


The Crow: Fragile

by detafo



Category: The Crow (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 03:01:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20268934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/detafo/pseuds/detafo
Summary: This is a story that came into my head one day, after watching Wicked Prayer. Jimmy and Lily had a little girl, who was born while Jimmy was in jail. After Lily and Jimmy were murdered, Lily's father, Harold, sadly gave Raven to a foster home, because she reminded him too much of what he had lost. This is Raven's story. [[cross-posted from FF.net]]





	1. Chapter 1

There's a place I go inside myself. It's warm and full of light. There are clouds floating by, lazily on a non-existent breeze, and sometimes, the light grows dim enough to see millions upon millions of stars all around me. If I had my way, I'd live there for eternity. It's usually the only place I feel safe anymore.

See, my mom died when I was only about two years old. I have this fuzzy memory of her, dark hair, blue eyes, holding me while I played with her necklace. She called me her special _hosa_. It means little raven. I was her little raven. She loved blackbirds and ravens and crows. That's what I've heard, anyway. I was put in a foster home when she died, because grandpa couldn't look after me.

My name is Raven Ignites The Dawn Cuervo. I am eighteen years old. And I am in serious danger.

~::-|-::~

_Dear Jimmy and Lily,_

_It's been two months now since grandpa passed away. Two long months and I haven't had a decent night's sleep since. I'm not sure why. I feel anxious and scared and wish I could sleep. I've had terrible nightmares. Nightmares I can't explain. All I know is that I am surrounded by pain and death and it frightens me._

_Uncle Tanner says it's the grieving process. I don't think so. Do you think that I have inherited your seeing eyes, Lily? Is this why I see people in my dreams that I don't even know?_

_Some of these people are really quite cruel. They have weapons and they come toward me like they want to hurt me. Just as they are about to kill me, I wake up in a cold sweat. Mrs Cummings says it might be repressed memories… or something I saw on TV. I have to remind her that I don't watch television. The repressed memories idea might be something though. Maybe I should go to a dream psychologist or something. They'd probably throw me in a nut house if they even tried to analyse my dreams. Maybe it's better if I keep these dreams between you two and me. For now at least._

_Onto happier subjects, my job at the Mexico City Historic Center is going well. I'm keeping busy with all the information that I have to put into the computer. At least this means I don't have to face Marco or Leila. I've mentioned them before, haven't I? They're twins who like to make my life hell. They got jobs at the Historic Center around about the time I did and love to tease me about my name. I always tell them at least I have a story behind my name and it isn't common like their names. But their remarks are still pretty cutting._

_But as much as I've waffled on for a page and a half, (it's probably time I get a new journal! The size of these pages is making me fill this one up faster than I thought!) I think it's time for me to sign off and start to make dinner. Mosi is meowing for his milk._

_An ocean of love with a kiss on every wave,___  
Your daughter,  
Raven

I closed the journal and looked around my small apartment. I hadn't mentioned it in the letter to my parents, but the day after tomorrow, I would be moving from Mexico City to start life in Illinois. I was journeying to live with my foster brother and closest confidant, Billy, until I found a job and my own place to live. It was strange, even after planning for so many months, part of me still felt unwilling to leave. I felt close to my parents in Mexico, and it felt like the Aztec Spirit Guides were trying to tempt me away from my decision to leave.

I put it down to pre-moving jitters and started toward the kitchen to make some dinner for myself. Mosi purred as he weaved through my legs and I picked him up.

"We're almost out of here, Mosi…" I whispered. "Away from Marco, away from Leila, away from these horrible nightmares." Mosi rubbed his head under my chin. He'd been my comfort on those many nights when I woke up crying. "A new life beckons to us…" I murmured, putting him on the floor so I could get him some milk.

About an hour later, sitting at the table, I nibbled at the cheese on toast that I had made myself. Truth be told, I wasn't very hungry. I had a horrible feeling in my gut that something bad was going to happen. I just didn't know what. Grandpa always said to trust my instincts, but just then, I didn't know what my instincts were trying to tell me.

"Mosi! Time to come inside!" I called softly, opening the back door, knowing he'd gone out mousing. "Mosi! Puss, puss!"

A dark figure on the grass caught my eye. I sighed. My neighbors always showed their disgust for me – a half Spanish, half Indian – by throwing their trash into my back garden. I was always finding bags of trash and old potato sacks there. But this shape looked smaller. Curiously, I moved toward it to see what it was this time. A towel? A rotting leg of lamb?

Suddenly, a cloud cleared away from the moon and I could see clearly what it was. I put a hand to my mouth to stifle my screams. Mosi… my dear, sweet Mosi, lay dead at my feet, a piece of cord wrapped tightly around his neck.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Madre de Christo_!" breathed Detective Elí García Ramírez, when he arrive at the location of his latest homicide. He stepped to one side when entering the ground floor apartment to avoid stepping on the strange carving in the wooden floor. Looking closely at it, he was sure it looked somewhat familiar to him. It wasn't long before he recognised it as a backwards Swastika with extra lines carved across the arms and an 'X' over it. He shook his head slowly, averting his eyes from the symbol.

Making his way into the bedroom, he had to force back the bile creeping up his throat when he focused on what he saw. A girl, no older than twenty, he guessed, was hung from her four-poster bed on a cross in a crude rendition of a crucifixion. Her chin rested on her chest and Elí could see that her eyes had been gouged out. Never in his whole career as a homicide detective had he seen anything so jaw-droppingly horrible. And he'd seen some pretty horrible things.

"Tell me about the scene, Quinlan." He said, finally tearing his eyes away from the corpse. Detective Quinlan looked up grimly from his notes. "From what I can gather, the victim's name is Raven Cuervo. She worked in the offices of the History Center."

Elí waited for him to continue, he frowned. "That's all you've found out?" He asked suspiciously. He'd been called to the scene an hour after the call had gone out. Surely the younger detective had found out more than just her name and where she worked?

"To be honest, sir, there's not much to tell. She wasn't friendly with her neighbors, she has no family that I can see, and she lived alone."

"Seems to me she was about to move." Elí mused, looking around at the half-packed boxes in the corner of the room. "And have you questioned the neighbors? If she isn't friendly with them, that makes them suspects."

Quinlan flushed with embarrassment. He'd been caught up with trying to do everything right, that he'd forgotten almost everything in his training. It was well known that Detective Ramírez was tough to please. Quinlan bit his lip. "Yes sir, I'll get right on it, sir."

"Never mind. Send Costas and Arroyo to the neighbors. You stay here with me." Ramírez said, looking back up at the crucifix. "Has anyone been notified of this tragedy?" He asked quietly. It was always a shame when someone so young was taken so cruelly.

"No sir, I'll get someone to look for family members." Quinlan said, fumbling with his notepad. "Though, one of the officers did find a journal in the office. Maybe that will yield some clues?"

"Is that a question or a statement, Detective Quinlan?" Ramírez raised an eyebrow at the younger detective. Quinlan swallowed nervously. "Go back to the office Quinlan, see if you can find me an address book or a pocket book or _something_." Putting emphasis on the last word, he watched as the younger detective scurried away toward the office. Looking back up at the body, Ramírez grimaced as he noticed that the poor girl's throat had been cut. Large nails impaled her wrists and feet, much like the style in which the bible depicted Christ being crucified. Even without her throat cut, she would have suffocated from lack of oxygen, if loss of blood didn't kill her first. It looks like something out of a particularly gruesome horror movie. Ramírez shuddered. It was a rare thing for a scene to affect the hardened cop in such a way. Looking up again, he noticed blood on the shirt that she was wearing. Blood that had obviously not come from her eyes. Taking his pencil and lifting the material gingerly, his eyes widened. "Quinlan!" He called. The young detective poked his head around the office door.

"Yes sir?"

"Come here." The abrupt tone was one that Quinlan chose not to ignore and scurried to Ramírez' side. Looking in the direction of the older man's gaze, his eyes widened.

"How could I have not noticed that?" He wondered out loud, his voice barely above a whisper. Ramírez chose not to answer; the younger cop still had a lot to learn.

The letters carved into the girl's soft flesh of her stomach spelled the words: _Die Injun Bitch_.

~::-|-::~

"Have you read through the journal to see if there's any mention of family in there?" Detective Covas demanded, leaning his hands on the desk in front of Ramírez.

"Yes sir. The only things written in the journal are letters to her parents, with a brief mention of a grandfather and an uncle." Ramírez said. "Her parents are dead, killed when she was a child."

"What about this uncle and the grandfather?" Covas asked. "Anyone tried to contact them?"

"We're looking through her address book for the uncle, sir. According to the last entry in the journal, the grandfather died a few months ago."

Covas looked at the autopsy photos of the young girl. She looked oddly familiar to him. "Who were her parents, does it say?" He asked.

"Every entry starts with 'Dear Jimmy and Lily'," Ramírez said, looking down at the journal which rested on the desk. "And ends with 'your daughter, Raven'."

"What was her last name, did you say?" Covas asked, frowning.

"Cuervo." Ramírez said, frowning. "Why?"

"Jimmy Cuervo." Covas breathed. "I remember him."

"Sir?"

Covas looked up. "What?" He asked.

"You know who her parents are?" Ramírez looked hopeful. "It'd be a big help if I knew who to contact."

"I knew her father." Covas said simply. "He was a convict who murdered a well known kid back where I used to live. He was on the chain gang. He and his girlfriend were killed by his best friend about… fifteen or sixteen years ago. The Lily mentioned in the journal must be Lily Ignites The Dawn. She was Jimmy's girlfriend. I was friends with her brother."

"That would be…" Ramírez flipped through the journal until he came to the last entry. "Uncle Tanner?"

"Yeah." Covas sighed. "Poor guy's had enough going on in his life without this happening." He muttered. "First Harold dies, then Tanner's house catches fire, his two kids were abducted and held for ransom too."

"Sir… could it all be connected?" Ramírez asked, frowning. It seemed all to convenient that all that had happened to the man as well as his niece being brutally murdered.

"Could be…" Mused Covas. "Except for his dad dying. Prostate cancer did that." He shook his head. "Look, Ramírez, I'll call Tanner. I'll give him the news. You just work on finding the bastards who did this to that poor girl, okay?"

"Sure, boss." Ramírez nodded. "I'll get it done."

Covas bowed his head slightly as he turned and went back to his office to make the tragic phone call.


	3. Chapter 3

**~::-|-::~ One Year Later ~::-|-::~**

_Tap… Tap… Tap… … … … Tap… Tap… Tap…_

The incessant tapping startled me awake. Who was calling at this hour of the night? It was pitch dark and I couldn't even see my hands in front of me. Where was I? Certainly not in my nice warm bed with my Mosi curled up next to me.

_Awaken, child. Awaken from your slumber…_

I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see. What happened? I was blind! "Who are you?" I asked the voice. "What have you done to me?" I was scared. My eyes didn't work and there was a strange person in my bedroom. "Answer me!"

_Awaken from your slumber, Raven-child. It is time to rejoin the world._

"Where are you?" I called out, noticing that my voice seemed to echo bluntly around my head. "Who are you?" I raised my hands to my face, only to have them knock against wood. I felt my hair stand on end as I felt the wood above me. "Oh my God…" I whispered. "I've been buried alive." Laying my palm against the wood above me, I pushed as hard as I could. It didn't budge. I chewed my lip and pushed again. There! I felt the roof above me give way a little. Not much, but a little. I pushed again. The wood creaked under my hand and a shower of dirt, mud and water rained down upon me as I opened the wooden door as far as I could. Opening my eyes after the deluge had stopped, I frowned. I could see… but they weren't my eyes. How could they not be my eyes? I raised my hands to my face and felt my eyes. I tried not to scream when I felt just fleshy hollows there. Where were my eyes?!

_You have no eyes, child._

The voice echoed around my head. I bit my lip. Although I was frightened, I was strangely curious. "If I have no eyes, how can I see?" I asked the voice.

_You will see the world through my eyes, Raven-child. Come._

I twisted my body to point my face toward where my head had been. Through the strange eyes, I saw a crow perched on the headstone. It cocked its head to one side, as though studying me. It seemed to beckon to me as it took off and began to fly towards the gate of the cemetery. As quickly as I could, I got up out of the coffin and dragged my weak body out of the hole. "Wait! Please wait!" I called hoarsely to the crow. I watched as it landed on a headstone a few dozen feet away. I felt dizzy and weak. Letting my head fall to the ground, I fell asleep.

~::-|-::~

I awoke a little later. I don't know how long I was out, but it was long enough. I felt rejuvenated of strength and ready to follow the crow. I looked about. The crow was now a few feet closer to me, settled on a headstone, watching me. As I got up, it flapped its wings and took off. I ran after it, keeping pace with it, which surprised me. I'd never been a very athletic person, but here I was keeping up with a crow and feeling like I was racing the wind and winning easily!

The crow led me through a myriad of alleyways and shadowed areas of the city until we finally came to an apartment building that looked run down and uncared for. The crow landed on the step, cawing as if to urge me to go inside. I was apprehensive of this building. I knew I'd seen it before, but couldn't place where. Cautiously, I made my way up the stairs to the front door. Tentatively, I pushed open the door, letting the rotting wood swing open with a slight creak. Seeing the door to the ground floor apartment on my left, I studied the criss-crossing of police tape over the door. Trying the door, I found it unlocked and it swung open easily. I ducked under the police tape and walked into the house.

As I walked across the threshold, I was overcome with a powerful vision. Was it memory? Was it a premonition? I couldn't tell. All I knew was that it had caused me to fall to the floor, curling into a foetal position.

"_Get off me!"_

"_The little Injun bitch can fight!" Cruel laughter echoed through the house. "Oooh, hey Viper, here's a little sassy one for you to have!"_

"_Let's just get this job done, Taipan. You know the bosses don't like to be kept waiting!"_

"_Get off me! Leave me alone!" Raven struggled to get free. "I have money! Cash! Anything you want, just please! Let me go!"_

"_Hear that, Viper? She wants to buy us off." The one called Taipan sneered, bringing his face close to hers. "What we want, little birdie, hasn't got a price."_

"_What do you want with me?" Raven was fighting back tears of fear, rage and anguish. "I don't know you! How could I have done anything to you?!"_

"_Easy, sweetheart." The one called Viper cooed, drawing a ten inch long hunting knife from his belt. "You were born." He grinned evilly at her. "Taipan! Hold her head still!" The other man's strong hand wrapped around her head, keeping her still. Viper brought the knife close to her eyes, moving from left to right. "Eenie, meanie, miney, mo…" He said in a sing-song voice, Raven's frightened eyes looking at his face. "Looks like the left eye is first to go."_

_Raven let out a blood curdling scream as Viper dug the knife into her eye sockets and carefully removed the eyes. She was still screaming when he brought his hands away, wrapping the eyes gently in a soft cotton pouch and putting the pouch in his coat pocket. Taipan lifted Raven's shirt and used his own knife to gouge a message into her stomach. Raven's screaming had stopped, but she whimpered and moaned in pain as she tried to get away from the sharp weapon._

"_You guys haven't already…. Ah shit!" Another voice, a new voice. "I told ya not to do it until I'd gotten her on the cross! Christ, you guys are impatient!"_

"_Well you took too long marking the sign on the floor!" Viper growled. "Not our fault, Cougar."_

"_Don't use my name, you idiot! She could identify us."_

"_So the fuck what?! She's gonna die anyway. She won't be able to tell no one!"_

_Cougar muttered as he dragged something heavy across the floor. Raven couldn't see and was too consumed by pain to really know what was going on. Her head rolled back and she fell unconscious._

I awoke with tears running down my cheeks. I hurriedly wiped them away and looked at the crow. "Why am I here?" I asked, somehow knowing the bird wasn't going to answer me. As I had assumed, it just coked its head to the side and stared at me with it's brown eyes. My brown eyes. _Our _brown eyes. Getting up, I stumbled toward the bedroom. Reaching the bureau, I opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a shoe box. Pulling out my face paints, I looked in the mirror as I carefully applied it to my cheeks. I circled my eyes with heavy and thick black eyeliner and trailed it down my cheeks. Applying my black lipstick, my hand worked with a mind of it's own as I drew messy black lines at the corners of my mouth. I turned away from the mirror and looked at the crow, perched on the bedpost.

"How do I look?" I asked. The crow flapped it's wings as if in appreciation and cawed, before pecking at the bedpost. "Good…" I murmured, getting up and going to the closet.

Minutes later, I stood there, dressed in black leather pants, a black leather vest, fishnet gloves, black motorcycle boots and a long black leather trench coat. The crow alighted from the bedpost to land on my shoulder. It cawed softly at me. I nodded and walked out the door.

As I exited the house, the crow took off from my shoulder and flew east. I knew that I must follow. _The people who did this to me must pay…_ I thought. _And pay they will. They will regret the day they murdered Raven Cuervo._


	4. Chapter 4

"You owe me four hundred and fifty-three bucks, you asshole!" Fury was living up to his name, grabbing Shadow by the throat and slamming him against a wall. Shadow managed to slip out of his opponent's grasp and danced across the floor, keeping his gaze level with Fury's. Other members of the Cyanide Nazis watched the confrontation with bored expressions. The newest inductees to the Order were standing nervously to one side, hoping they wouldn't be called to pull the two feuding warlords apart.

Both warlords drew apart, still glaring at each other as a shrill whistle pierced the air. Looking up at the first floor landing, the newest inductees saw a tall, thin woman with a bright, feathered mask over her eyes. The eyes, an interesting mixture of chocolate brown and ice blue, seemed not to suit her face. In fact, they didn't. The woman had stolen them and cast a spell for them to become her own.

"Fury! Shadow! You will stop fighting this instant!" A loud, commanding voice called down. "You will pay attention to what Lady Byrne has to say!" The words came from a tall, almost Amazonian woman on Lady Byrne's right.

"Thank you, Gemini." Lady Byrne said with a gracious smile. "New inductees, come forward."

Trembling, Siren, Blade, Havoc and Mayhem came forward. None of them dared look at the Lady Byrne. There had been rumours that she was in fact the bride of Satan himself and no one wished to anger her for fear of what she might do to them.

"Isis, will you please do the honours?" Lady Byrne ordered a tall woman on the ground floor.

"Yes, Lady Byrne." The woman came forward with a small bowl clasped in her pale hands. Standing in front of Siren, she looked at the girl's bowed head. "What is your name?" She asked coldly.

"Siren." She answered quietly.

"Louder, so the whole Order can hear you, girl!" Isis said loudly, causing Siren to jump.

"Siren." She said, raising the volume of her voice.

"Do you, Siren, swear to be true and become one with the Cyanide Nazis? Do you promise to be true to our leader, the Lady Byrne? Will you willingly give your life over to the Order?"

"I do and I will." Siren raised her head and looked Isis in the eye. "I am ready."

Isis nodded and put her hand in the bowl, fishing out a small, perfectly round stone. Siren opened her mouth and the stone was placed on her tongue. She winced slightly but closed her mouth.

"Siren, you have promised to give yourself willingly to the Cyanide Nazis and their one true leader, Lady Byrne. You have been inducted by the cold fire stone. May your service to the Order be long lasting." Isis moved to the next inductee, ready to repeat the ritual. Havoc was chewing the inside of his cheek, watching a slight wince and a single tear emit from Siren. "What is your name?" Isis asked, her voice ringing out through the warehouse.

"Havoc." His voice shook slightly but his head remained bowed.

"Do you, Havoc, swear to be true and become one with the Cyanide Nazis? Do you promise to be true to our leader, the Lady Byrne? Will you willingly give your life over to the Order?"

"I do and I will." Havoc said, raising his head and looking at Isis. "I am ready."

Again the stone was place onto the inductee's tongue. "Havoc, you have promised to give yourself willingly to the Cyanide Nazis and their one true leader, Lady Byrne. You have been inducted by the cold fire stone. May your service to the Order be long lasting."

The same happen with the last two inductees, Mayhem and Blade. Both accepted the responsibility and swore to give themselves over to the Cyanide Nazis. Lady Byrne looked down at them triumphantly. Once the induction was over, she spread her arms wide.

"My children, the time is almost upon us! Tomorrow night is Devil's Night and the night that we raise Hell!"

The Order erupted into cheers. The newest inductees looked slightly confused for a few minutes. Lola Byrne blinked her strange, stolen eyes and surveyed her Order. Yes, with these four new inductees, her plan to raise her Satanic husband from the dead was going to succeed.

~::-|-::~

As Lola exited the main warehouse to retire to her room, she began to think of her husband. Entering her room, she looked at the faded photograph of them together and stroked her husband's face. "Oh, Luc… if only you could see how much I have achieved in the years gone by." She murmured. "And these eyes! Oh, Luc… I just know that little brat was the spawn of Jimmy and Lily. I've had my spies watching her for some time." She smiled. "And now that she's dead and I have her eyes… she's just as dead as her mother… oh do you remember that, Luc? That night was so much fun."

Lola often did this, talking to Luc's picture as though he were really there. The years had not been kind to Lola's sanity. When Tanner had arrested her, she'd spent only a few nights in a cell before her conversations with no one had forced them to send her to a psychiatric ward in Mexico City. It had been there that Lola had received her first vision of the Cyanide Nazis. Before Lola had been released and helped them find their feet, the few members there had been at the time were finding themselves in court every other week.

Lola had become leader of the Cyanide Nazi Order. She'd organised the brains and brawn apart, and had her trusted advisors and her cunning warriors. She also had the muscle, which was always good when they needed to show anyone who was boss in this town. The message was quite clear to anyone who knew of the Order – the Cyanide Nazis were not to be messed with. If they were, people died, often brutally.

"Oh, Luc… how fun it will be to have you here with me again." Lola said with a smile. "But," She let a serious expression cloud her features. "I tell you here and now, my darling husband, the Antichrist, that if you mess with me, you're going straight back to where you belong." Her face brightened. "Oh, but you'll be so proud of me, Luc… I've organised this whole Order by myself, I've divided them into levels… I am their queen and you, my darling, will be their king." She clapped her hands gleefully and pulled off the feathered mask, dancing around the room.

~::-|-::~

"So… how exactly do we advance ahead?" Blade was asking one of his fellow inductees.

"Advance ahead?" Jackal had overheard the conversation and began to laugh, slapping the table as he tried to stop. "You're kidding right? You don't advance ahead here, kid. You're a warlord. The lowest of the low. You're the scum on my shoe. No way you'll ever advance…" He yelped as Sabre Tooth smacked him violently upside the head. "You mean _you'll_ never advance, Jackal." He said, his voice deep and cold. It sent shivers up Blade's spine. Sabre Tooth turned his one-eyed gaze to him.

"The way you advance, is to do everything you're told. You prove to Lady Byrne that you're trusted enough and qualified enough to advance to the next level, she will confer with her most trust advisors, the Zodiacs. They are the ones who decide whether or not you will advance."

"How many groups are there?" Mayhem wanted to know.

"There are seven groups." Sabre Tooth said, turning his gaze to the girl beside Blade. "The Hierarchy ranges downward from Lady Byrne. Her most trusted advisors are the three Zodiacs, Taurus, Scorpio and Gemini. Then come the Elements."

"Who are they?" Mayhem looked around the mess hall, trying to spot the Element group.

"You won't find them here unless under extreme circumstances." Sabre Tooth said. "They consist of the Firebirds. Their specialty is fire. You will meet them soon, Fire, Flame, Blaze and Inferno. Isis is the Ice Queen…"

"Ice Bitch, you mean." Jackal muttered, earning another hard slap upside the head from the larger man.

"She was the one who inducted you. Then there are the Water Misers, Thunder, Storm and Lightning. Their specialty is explosions. The last group of Elements are the Wind Riders. That's Cyclone, Hurricane and Tornado."

"You put them ear to ear, you have a wind tunnel." Jackal said, ducking another slap.

"The next group is my level, the Big Cats. That's me, Sabre Tooth, Panther, Cougar, Cheetah and Lynx. We're guards for the Elements, the Zodiac and Lady Byrne."

"Next comes us, the Fierce." Jackal said smugly. "I'd like to see you get up this far, Newbies."

"His group are like the knights on a chessboard." Sabre Tooth said, looking sternly at Jackal. "Though they do all sorts of jobs, including spying. They consist of Bronco, Foxie, Rhino, Wolf and Jackal. The next groups are the Birds and the Serpents. They're mostly informants and spies, but the Big Cats and the Fierce usually take one or two with them when they're going on a mission."

"The Birds are Hawk, Falcon, Phoenix and Condor." Nodded Jackal. "They're really good at scare tactics. And the Serpents – Viper, Venom, Cobra and Taipan – are specialists in the silent captures."

"I believe she asked me." Sabre Tooth glared at Jackal and made to slap him again, but the small man huddled in his chair. Sabre Tooth glared at Jackal and turned back to the new inductees. "And after the Birds and the Serpents, comes you. The Warlords. As well as you four, there's Tank, Fury, Militia, Shadow, Warrior and Battleaxe."

"Wow… there's more people here than I first thought." Mayhem said quietly. "So it really is a big organisation."

"Huge." Piped up Militia, who'd been listening quietly to the explanation. "We are the biggest Order to ever rule the underworld of Mexico City."

"And soon we'll be even bigger." Jackal said with a smile. "When we raise Death, tomorrow night, it'll be Hell on earth and one huge fuckin' party!"


	5. Chapter 5

The crow led me across rooftops, past chimneys and over old fire escapes. Although my body felt free as I ran lightly and sure of my footing, my mind was racing with thoughts of how I was going to get my revenge on the people who killed me. I remembered their names – Viper, Taipan and Cougar… at least, that's what they had called themselves. The crow's cawing brought me back to my senses. I focused on the bird to see that it had alighted on a guttering, looking down into an alleyway. Looking over the edge of the roof, I focused on a man advancing toward a woman at the dead end of the alley. Looking at the crow, I leapt down the five storey high building, my coat billowing behind me until I landed, almost silently behind the would-be attacker.

"I'm gonna cut your throat and feed your tongue to the homeless bastard in this alley, bitch." The man snarled at the young woman. I stood up and positioned myself behind him.

"Hello, Taipan." I said, my voice monotone and my face expressionless. The man turned around and glared at me.

"Who the fuck are you?" He snarled, brandishing his knife at me.

"I'm hurt, Taipan… you don't remember me." I said, a small smile on my face. "Surely, you remember the 'little birdie' whose eyes your friend gouged out?"

Taipan sneered at me. "Don't think you can outwit me, girlie. That Injun bitch deserved to die. Filthy halfie."

"Really? And the only thing she ever did to you was be born?" My left hand flashed out and grabbed the knife before he knew what hit him. Holding it to his throat, I let the light shine on my eyeless face, the sight of me made him jump and gasp a little. "Who gave the order to kill me?" I whispered menacingly. "You will tell me, Taipan…"

Seeing his hand fumble for the other knife in his belt, I lashed out and struck his wrist with the blade in my hand. He screamed as the severed appendage fell to the ground and blood spurted from the stump where his hand used to be.

"It's no use trying to fight me, Taipan." I whispered. "Tell me who gave the order."

"Never!" He growled, his face distorted with pain. "You'll have to kill me."

"If that's what you wish." I said, drawing the other knife from his belt. Pushing him violently towards a wall, I threw one of the knives at him with a flick of my wrist. It embedded itself in his right shoulder, causing him to howl in pain. I came forward, letting the other knife glide slowly over his face, gently pressing the blade against his skin. Lifting his shirt, I cocked my head to one side, still looking at his frightened eyes. "Now… what should I write, Taipan… Really, it shouldn't be 'Die Injun Bitch'." I brushed the leather tassels of my vest away to show off the scarred message engraved across my belly. "Who gave the order, Taipan… I know you know. Tell me and I will make it quick."

"All right! All right! He whimpered, watching as his faithful knife drew lightly along his belly, not hard enough to penetrate, but light enough to feel the danger. "The Ice Maiden gave the order. Talk to her! She's the one who ordered you dead! Just… don't kill me."

"Where can I find this Ice Maiden?" I asked, still drawing the knife lazily along his skin. "And who told her about me?"

"I don't know! I don't know!" Taipan was very pale now; the loss of blood from his wrist was making him weak.

"Tell me, Taipan… I don't have time for a snake's lies." I murmured, digging the blade into his stomach. He whimpered loudly and the blood began to run down from his body.

"It was Foxie and Wolf who told her… that's all I know! I promise!" Tears were running freely from his eyes now and I watched him calmly through the crow's eyes.

"Very well, Taipan… you've done me a great service." I ignored his cries as I carved my message into his body. "And now here's my part of the deal." I grabbed his head firmly between my hands and kissed him forcefully on the mouth. The knife flicked through the air and blood began to run from the slice made in his throat. He gurgled as he slumped against the wall, his own trusty knife the only thing holding him up.

The soft whimpering behind me brought me to my senses and I turned to see the woman that Taipan had been torturing, cowering against a wall.

"Please don't hurt me…" She whispered, over and over again. I bowed my head before her.

"Get yourself home, and don't come looking for me." I said softly. "You belong at home with your family. Go back to them." I watched as she watched me for a moment, before getting up and fleeing from the alleyway. Looking around, I took a running jump and swung myself up onto a disused fire escape and took my leave to the rooftops once again.

~::-|-::~

Foxie and Wolf… these were not names I had heard mentioned in my room that night. But they somehow sounded vaguely familiar. Were there others involved in the plot? I sat on the rooftop, my legs swinging freely over the side as I contemplated Taipan's words. The crow was perched on my shoulder, cawing softly every now and then. I ran my hand over the scars on my torso, memories coming to me as my fingers passed over every ridge.

"_Hey look it's the Blackbird who wasn't baked in a pie." A voice sneered. Raven turned to see Leila behind her, watching her work._

"_What do you want, Leila?" She asked, vowing not to put up with any of the younger girl's crap._

"_This report about Lake Ravasu is a waste of paper and of space. The boss wanted me to tell you that you have to rewrite it and make it sound more plausible. All this crap about a rumoured Satanic cult… you're such a bullshit artist, Blackbird."_

"_It's Raven, you half-wit. Not Blackbird."_

"_Blackbird, Raven… what's the difference? They're both nuisances that need to be culled. They should start with you."_

"_The difference is, Leila, that they are two different birds." Raven turned back to her computer and opened the Lake Ravasu file._

"_Yeah? But you're the filthy spawn of a Blackbird and a Crow, little bird. And that makes you a filthy half breed."_

"_Foxie, dearest… let the bird alone. You know its cats that like to tease their prey, not us."_

_I know, Marco. But it's just a little harmless fun… for now." Leila smirked at her twin brother. "Lord know wolves like to go after larger prey." She put an arm around Marco's waist. "Remember to get that file done, Blackbird. If you don't, it's the unemployment line for you."_

_The twins walked off, sniggering quietly to themselves, leaving Raven alone, tears distorting her vision._

"Leila and Marco…" I whispered to myself, coming to my senses and feeling my blood boil. I knew now who my next targets were. I looked at the crow, which seemed to know what I was thinking. Taking off from my shoulder, if flapped away into the night. I followed, my thoughts turning to the two who had made my work life so hellish. Their sneering faces swam through my thoughts, making me clench my teeth in anger. They would pay dearly for what they had done. I ran after the crow, the night swallowing me up as if I had never been.

~::-|-::~

The crow alighted on a wrought iron fence surrounding a house in the richer district of town. I leapt the spikes easily and peeked in through a window in which a light shone. The people in the room seemed to be having a meeting of some sort. I recognised Leila and Marco, sitting at either end of the table, three others sat around it. Only the woman I didn't know was talking, the two unknown men looked barely capable of stringing a legible sentence together. The big one kept cracking his knuckles, earning a disgusted look from Leila.

"Tank, if you keep on doing that, I'll ask Wolf to chop off each of your fingers with his pocket knife." I heard her say finally to the big man. Tank didn't seem to be listening, but he gave his knuckles one loud final crack and settled back in his chair. "Thank you." Leila said exasperatedly. "Now can we please get on with this meeting?"

"Now, Now, Foxie… don't get so uptight." Marco said with a smile. "Phoenix," He said, turning back to the woman who'd been talking. "Please, continue."

"The fact is that if we do manage to raise Luc from the dead, who's to say it will be the same Luc? And who's to say that Lady Byrne is really all she claims to be? I know," Phoenix held up her hand to fend off protests. "She has made the Cyanide Nazis who we are today, but I've heard things about her. How she went insane after she watched Luc die. How she uses the eyes of her victims to see."

"Ew…" Leila wrinkled her nose. "That's gross. I've always thought she just has a huge range of contact lenses."

"Doesn't mean a thing." The smaller man said, tossing a small knife from hand to hand. "You ever noticed how when one of us is sent to kill someone, she always asks we bring back the eyes of the victim?"

"That is true." Mused Marco. "She's a strange woman. But she has managed to double, even triple our numbers in just a few short years. She has been good to us."

"More so than our own parents." Leila agreed. "She's been like the mother we never had."

"If she's the mother you never had, Leila, why do you speak of her so?" I asked from my perch on the windowsill, where I had climbed in silently while they had been having their discussion. Leila whirled around to face me.

"Who the hell are you?!" She screamed. "Battleaxe! Get her!" The small man with the knife got up and threw his knife at me with practiced ease. I easily caught the knife between my index and middle fingers, smiling at him.

"Very nice reflexes, Battleaxe." I said. I flipped the knife over and threw it back at him. The small man went down with his own weapon embedded in his eye. He was dead before he hit the ground with the blade piercing his brain. Leila screamed and Marco gave a shout of disgust as Battleaxe's blood began to stain the Oriental rug.

"You pay, witch woman!" These were the first words I'd heard the man called Tank utter and as he got up, I could understand why his name was Tank. He was built like a cross between a linebacker and a bodybuilder and he came thundering toward me, ready to crush me like an insect. I jumped at the last moment and swung from the chandelier above his head. He looked around confused for a minute before looking up and seeing me. My weight, plus the continuous shaking of the house as Tank jumped up and down, trying to get me, made the chandelier's fixture creak dangerously. The screws holding it to the ceiling gave way after a moment or two and the heavy light fixture, as well as myself fell on Tank's head, the ornamental spike at the bottom of the light impaling the big man's neck and severing his spinal cord.

"Tank! No!" The woman called Phoenix screamed. I got up, watching as my wounds healed themselves within seconds. I regained my balance just in time to find Phoenix pointing a sword at my neck. "You killed my brother, witch. You will pay." I raised my head and she froze, dropping the sword as she saw my eyeless face. "Witch…" She whispered in fright.

"No." I smiled. "My name is Raven." I used my boot to kick up the fallen sword and plunged it into her heart. She choked as her heart stopped and she fell at my feet.

Marco and Leila were standing in the corner of the room, the colour drained from their faces. I turned to them, watching their faces become twisted masks of horror.

"Marco and Leila." I said, walking toward them slowly, clicking my tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk… Did you not know what would happen when you told your mistress about me?"

"B-b-b-Blackbird?" Leila stuttered, her hand clasped with Marco's tightly. "But, y-your dead!"

"Oh, Leila… for once, you're right!" I smiled. I heard an echoing click and turned my gaze to Marco, who was holding a small pistol, aimed at my heart. "Tsk, tsk, tsk… Marco," I chuckled hollowly. "What do you mean to do with that? I'm dead, remember?"

"Die again, demon!" He said, the fear in his voice thick. He pulled the trigger and I staggered back as the bullet passed through my heart. Regaining my balance, I spread my arms and laughed at him.

"Wrong answer, _Wolf_!" I kicked him in the groin as hard as I could and when he fell, I put my foot on his neck, slowly increasing the pressure. Picking up the gun, I pointed it at Leila. "Where do I find the Ice Queen?" I asked, cocking the pistol and aiming it at her. Marco gurgled something and I released the pressure on his neck slightly. "What was that, Marco?"

"Don't tell her anything, Leila!" He grunted, as I increased the pressure of my boot again. "Don't…!"

"I don't know!" Leila sobbed. "All I know was we were commissioned to spy on you and report back to her with everything we found out." Marco gurgled angrily at her and I increased pressure once again.

"Let your darling sister talk, Wolf." I said dangerously. "It might save both your skins." Marco fell silent.

Leila watched the gun through her tears. "All I know is where we'd go to report our findings to her. It was at the old meatworks on the other side of town! I swear that's all I know."

"Thank you, Leila." I smiled at her. "Now, which of you wants to die first?"

"B-b-b-but you said if I told you, you wouldn't kill us!" Leila cried.

"No I didn't." I said simply. "I said it _might save both your skins_, not your lives." I turned my gaze back to Marco and smiled down at him. "You wish to see your darling Foxie die, Wolf?" I asked. Marco grunted and tried to shake his head. "Very well." I aimed the gun to the side of his head and pulled the trigger. Leila screamed at her brother's blood sprayed over us. "Pity," I said, looking at Marco's body. "He would have made a lovely coat." I aimed the gun at her and pulled the trigger.


	6. Chapter 6

"What the hell, Ramírez! I thought you were supposed to be watching the streets!" Covas roared as another homicide file was dropped into his inbox. "Answer me!"

"Sir, I have had my team out on the street all night. We can't be everywhere at once." Ramírez stated quietly, looking at the beet-red face of his superior. "We've been on the streets for twenty-nine hours straight, sir… my men need sleep. Put the next team on."

"Ramírez, on your watch in just the last six hours there have been six murders! _Six_!" Covas said, wearily. "Look, Elí, I know it's been a long, hard shift. But with the escalating threats from that devil's group, we've had to double the workload. I'm sorry, but it's just the way it is."

"Detective Covas?" Quinlan was knocking on the detective's door. He looked tired and drawn, but his eyes were bright with excitement.

"What is it, Quinlan?" Covas sighed wearily. "Not another murder. The way they've all been killed, it wouldn't surprise me if it was this fucking Satanic group."

"No, sir… that's just it." Quinlan was just about bursting with the information he'd just found out. "The six people who've been murdered tonight weren't just civilians… they were members of the Cyanide Nazi Order!"

That made both Covas and Ramírez sit up straight. Covas motioned for Quinlan to hand over the folder containing the information. He scanned the rap sheets of each of those who had been murdered and sighed, handing the folder to Ramírez. "Looks like we've got a fucking vigilante on our hands." He muttered.

Ramírez looked at the rap sheet with interest, his weariness chased away for the time being. A piece of paper was paper clipped to the inside of the folder. Ramírez focused on Quinlan's small, neat handwriting to read: _Cinco Chavez, aka "Battleaxe"; Jose Garcia, aka "Taipan"; Martina Hague, aka "Phoenix"; Russell Hague, aka "Tank"; Leila Josue, aka "Foxie"; Marco Josue, aka "Wolf". All are known members of the Cyanide Nazi Order._

"Also, the woman who called the police claims she saw who killed Jose Garcia." Quinlan said, looking at his notes. "She's in the interrogation room right now. Her name is Azura Mayte."

"Why didn't you say so, Quinlan?!" Covas asked in annoyance. "Come on, Ramírez."

Ramírez had no choice but to get up from his chair and follow his superior. He looked at Quinlan with raised eyebrows and weary eyes. Without saying anything, he followed Covas to the interrogation room.

Covas opened the door and stepped inside, followed by the other detective. He looked at the file in his hands. "Senorita Mayte?" He asked, not unkindly. "I'm Detective Covas, and this is Detective Ramírez."

Azura Mayte looked up from the cup of lukewarm coffee and stared blankly at the two detectives in front of her. "She was dead…" She whispered.

"Excuse me? Who was dead?" Covas looked confused. "We've been told that you witnessed the murder of Senor Garcia…"

"She… the girl who killed him… she was dead." Azura's eyes filled with tears as she remembered what had happened in that alleyway not five hours ago.

"How could a dead person kill someone?" Covas asked, frowning. This woman was obviously still in serious shock. Either that or she was deranged.

"She was the Crow." Azura muttered, looking back at her coffee. "But… she had no eyes."

"Had no eyes? What do you mean, Azura?" Ramírez asked quietly.

"Her eyes were missing…" Azura said, her tears splashing on the table. "It was like someone had cut them out."

"Did she say anything to you?" Ramírez asked gently, frowning slightly. "Anything at all?"

"She told me to go back to my family… and that I should not try to find her…" Azura wiped her mascara-streaked eyes with her sleeve. "But I couldn't leave that dead man there… ¡Tuve que llamar la policía!"

"I understand, Azura…" Ramírez said. "We appreciate the call, we really do… but we need to know what this girl looked like."

"I told you already!" Azura glared at the detective in front of her. "She was the Crow! She's dead! Why don't you believe me?"

"We do believe you, Azura." Ramírez said with a sideways look at Covas, as if to say _what does she think we are? Fools?_, but Covas had gone slightly pale. Ramírez frowned. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Fine…" Covas said after a minute. "I'm fine. Thank you Senorita Mayte." He said abruptly, before leaving the room, leaving Ramírez not choice but to follow.

~::-|-::~

"Silence!" The tall Amazonian woman known as Gemini said loudly across the warehouse. The conversations and arguments stopped and died away as faces turned up to look at her. "Brothers," She said, addressing them all. "Sisters, we have a problem on our hands. Someone is taking the law into their own hands and killing off those like us." A low murmuring swept across the room. "Silence!" Gemini ordered. "Order of the Cyanide Nazis, will we stand for this injustice?"

"No!" The few people who called out looked angry. A lot of people shook their heads.

"We must show this vigilante group who the rightful underworld ruler of Mexico City is!" Gemini said. "These people must be taught a lesson. They need to be taught that no one goes against our Order. Who will stand and fight?"

"We will!" The group roared together.

"We must rid ourselves of this group by tomorrow night." Gemini stated. "For the rebirth of our leader, we must purge this waste from us. Go forth, brothers and sisters. Go forth and bring me the vigilantes!"

With a loud cheer, the subordinates of the Order began to exit the warehouse, off to find the group who thought they could take on the toughest leaders of the underworld.

Gemini stepped off the podium and walked back to her mistress's room. Knocking three times, she waited for a reply.

"Enter, Gemini." Lady Byrne said, her voice muffled by the door. Gemini pushed the door open and walked in with a bowed head. "Have my children gone to find our would-be assassins?"

"They've just left, Lady Byrne." Gemini said, not raising her head.

"And what losses have we induced tonight, according to our police informant?" Lola did not turn around from her bureau, only gazing at Gemini's reflection in the mirror.

"According to our informant, we have lost Taipan, Tank, Battleaxe, Phoenix, Wolf and Foxie." Gemini said, finally looking up at her mistress.

"They were merely spies and muscle." Lola said, seemingly unperturbed by this news. "Luckily, we still have Big Cats and Elements looking after us." Lola finally turned and cupped Gemini's chin with her hand. "You are very good to me, Gemini. You will be good to my darling husband as well, won't you?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Gemini said with certainty. "My brother, Famine, was faithful to you and your husband and I swear to be so as well."

"That's very good to know." Lola said graciously. "Now, please leave, Gemini. Alert me when you have found these so-called vigilantes."

"As you wish, my Lady." Gemini kissed Lola's hand and left the room, closing the door behind her. Lola turned back to her bureau and looked at the faded photograph of her husband.

"And so it starts again, baby." She said with a smile. "Like father like daughter. We'll see how she feels when she meets you." Kissing the photograph, she smiled to herself as she opened the spell book in front of her. Lighting the candles on either side of the mirror, she began to recite the ancient incantation.

"_The moon is full, the hour is nigh_

_Reborn to the earth with a soulless sigh_

_Within a day you will walk once more_

_Join your faithful subjects to settle the score._

_Bearer of brimstone and bearer of flame_

_Rejoin the living from whence you came."_

Although the air in the room was still, the candles flickered violently as if blown by a sudden wind. Lola smiled as she watched the flames danced before her stolen eyes. Yes, tomorrow night was going to be one to remember.


	7. Chapter 7

The sun was beginning to appear over the horizon when I got back to the apartment building. Avoiding walking over the carving in the floor, I looked around the apartment that had once been my home. Although I had been up for over sixteen hours, I wasn't tired. A plus to being dead, I supposed. I knew I needed to regain strength though, so I lay on my old bed and stared up at the canopy. Visions swan before my eyes and I gasped as I was thrown into another memory.

_Raven woke up, her mind buzzing from the amount of pain she was in. She couldn't see and her stomach hurt. So did her wrists and feet. She tried to move her hands to get the cramps out of her wrists and howled as pain shot up both her arms. She still couldn't see but she could hear cruel laughter as she struggled._

"_Look at the birdie squirm!" A voice chuckled darkly. "It's not often we manage to catch a blackbird without a worm."_

"_No, we just have to get rid of the cat." A voice laughed in reply. "But what a nice blackbird this one is…" Raven felt a hand on her thigh and she tried to kick it off, but screamed again as pain ripped through her legs. The owner of the hand laughed, lifting her skirt as he brought his hand up. Raven could feel tears running down her cheeks, but she could not wipe them off because her hands were stuck._

"_Shadow! Fury! Stop teasing the bird. We don't want her violated just yet." Another voice broke through the laughter._

"_Awwh, c'mon Bronco… you don't actually believe all that black magic stuff that they go on about do you?" One of the first men whined._

"_I've been a member a lot longer than you, Fury. I have seen a lot more than you, so keep your mouth shut!" The one called Bronco snapped. "Now hang her up and place the anonymous phone call. Otherwise it'll be reported to the Lady."_

"_Party crasher." Muttered Shadow and Raven felt herself being hoisted up. She felt her chest tighten and she struggled to breathe as she was lifted higher. She felt her head become light and consciousness left her. But not before she heard the one called Fury tell his partner to slit her throat._

I opened my eyes with a start, a scream tearing from my lips. "Noooooo!" I had seen how I died. I had thought it was only the people in my first vision, as well as Leila and Marco… but it seemed that the plot stretched further than that. I was panting as I sat up. Now I understood. My grandfather had told me of my mother's belief about the Crow. I understood now that the Crow had brought me back to avenge not only my death, but the many people who had been killed before me.

"Why me?" I cried, letting tears roll down my cheeks. I looked up at the crow, perched on the top of the wardrobe. "Why have I been chosen?"

_Because you are the daughter of a former Crow and the one they call Lily._

The voice echoed around my head for the first time since I had awoken in my coffin. "My father was a Crow?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

_Jimmy Cuervo was brought back to the Land of the Living to rid the world of the awakening of the Antichrist._

I remembered my grandfather telling me about the crow legend. He'd never mentioned my father being a Crow. I bowed my head. "But why me? Why?"

_You have been given the chance to avenge your death, Raven-child. There will come the hour at which the Antichrist will rise again. Only you can stop him._

"_What_?!" I cried. "But… how?" The crow remained silent, looking at me with those eyes. Fluttering its wings, it took off and flew out the door, cawing back to me in an invitation to follow. I didn't know what to do. The urge to follow the crow was strong, but the revelation that I was to fight the Devil himself was causing me to question the crow's motives.

"Wait!" I called, finally giving into the urge to follow the crow and I ran out of the apartment and into the street. A horn beeped loudly as I narrowly avoided getting hit by a car. Running down the street, ignoring the driver who was yelling all kinds of abuse at me, I caught up with the crow as it perched on a streetlight. "Where?" I asked, looking up at it and seeing the bird with its own eyes. The crow said nothing, but opened a wing and began to clean its feathers, pointing to a run down tenement building across the street. Walking to the building, I found the fire escape in the alleyway behind it. Swinging onto the metal awning, I looked into the window before me. Inside were a man and a woman, arguing.

"Just because it's what Gemini says, doesn't mean it's what we _have_ to do, Viper. I'm sick and tired of all this bullshit where we take orders from that giant bitch from hell!"

"C'mon, Condor… the Nazis are our family. We can't let them down… anyway, you don't do the captures. You do the spying!" Viper was saying.

"A lot of good that does me!" Condor said angrily, throwing a glass ashtray at the wall. The ornament shattered into a million pieces, making Viper curse loudly.

"What the fuck, Condor! You're fucking insane!"

"Excuse me." I said, watching from the window. "But would you mind keeping it down?" Both Viper and Condor turned to me and stared stupidly for a moment or so. In that moment, I had slipped through the window and was now standing in front of them in the small room.

"What the fuck!" Viper said, finally coming to his senses. "Get the fuck out you fucking bitch! Halloween's not til tomorrow!"

"Oh, I know that, Viper." I said, my hand shooting out and grabbing him around the neck. I cocked my head to one side as I started to squeeze. "Remember me?" I asked softly.

"Who the fuck are you!? Let him go!" I felt Condor's forearm wrap around my neck and I stumbled back as she yanked me away from Viper. Viper collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath and coughing as his lungs reinflated. He looked up at me, his eyes watering.

"You… you're one of those bastards who killed Taipan!" He said hoarsely. I smiled, despite the fact that Condor's arm was still tightly around my neck. "No…" I said. "I'm the _bitch_ who killed _all_ your friends." With renewed strength, I tore Condor's arm from my neck, ducked and spun so that her arm twisted painfully behind her back. She yelped in pain as I tightened my grip around her wrist. Viper's eyes were wide as he watched me incapacitate his partner. With my boot in her back, I pulled out Marco's small pistol and pointed it at her head. "Tell me where the rest of you are." I said, cocking the hammer back. Condor whimpered. Viper twitched and I glared at him. "Tell me, Viper." I said warningly. "There's only one bullet left in this gun and I don't want to miss."

"You'll never find them all." Condor said, all the fear vanishing from her voice. "They'll kill you before you do!"

"Oh, they've already killed me, Condor." I smirked. "And this is their punishment."

Viper's eyes went wide as he focused on my face. "No…" He said, the blood leeching from his cheeks.

"Oh, yeah." I said and took my foot off Condor's back, kneeling beside her. "Be honoured, Condor… I don't do this to everyone." Using the barrel of the gun to push her face toward me, I pressed my lips to hers and held the gun to her ear as I pulled the trigger. She slumped and I stood up to face Viper, who was standing rigid in front of me. "Where do I find your friends, Viper?" I asked. He jumped, as if being frightened out of a deep thought. Drawing a knife from his belt, he held its shining blade to me. He was trembling slightly, but it didn't seem to faze him. I watched him from across the room, jadedly examining my fingernails. Suddenly, he flipped the knife and threw it towards me. His aim was off and I watched as the blade embedded itself in the wall ten inches to the left of my head. I tutted. "Your aim really needs to improve, Viper." I told him as I pulled the knife out of the wall. Advancing toward him, I smiled coyly and heard his sharp intake of breath as he saw my face. "Admiring your handiwork?" I asked, amused. "I never really thanked you for making me like this." Sweeping my hand up, I slammed the blade into the bottom of his jaw. Viper's eyes rolled back in his head and I let go of the knife as his lifeless body fell to the ground. Looking at the two of them, I daintily stepped over the bodies as I made my way to the door. Before I could reach it, however, it slammed open with such force, I jumped back.

"Everything okay in here? I heard gunshots…. Holy shit…" The man who had walked into the room looked around at the mess of bodies. "Jackal! Bronco! Get in here!"

As I watched from my perch above the wardrobe, where I had leapt when the door opened, I watched as two other men entered the room. So… this was Bronco… I surveyed the man who was last to arrive. The smaller man in front of him could only be Jackal.

"What, Rhino?" Jackal whined as he stepped over the threshold of the room, a ballpoint pen twisting around his fingers. "Fuck me dead…" He muttered, surveying the scene, pen dropping to the floor in shock.

"No thanks." Bronco said, looking at the smaller man in disgust. "Who the fuck did this?" He asked.

"I did." I said coldly, hopping down from my perch and watching the three men, my arms crossed over my chest.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jackal asked, his eyes wide.

"Retribution." I stated simply and slammed my fist into the little man's face. He crumpled like a rag doll and fell to the floor. The one named Rhino snorted and grabbed my forearm.

"I suppose I should thank you. He's been annoying the hell out of us all night." He said. He glowered at me, unperturbed by my eyeless face. He turned me to face Bronco who examined me with interest.

"Retribution, eh?" He asked. I kept my face expressionless as he ran a finger down my chest. He laughed. "The little hellcat has balls, Rhino… we could have some fun with her." He grinned. His grin didn't last long as my free hand snapped up, grabbed his wandering fingers and snapped them back with enough force to shatter the bone. He screamed as he saw his two fingers reposition into right angles to his hand. "Kill the bitch!" He screamed, nursing his injured hand, and Rhino yanked my hair, dragging me across the floor toward the window. Dragging me onto the fire escape, he pushed his huge forearm against my neck and pushed me back over the railing. "You will die for that little trick, bitch…" He snarled. I said nothing and spat in his face. Loosening his grip in disgust, he wiped the saliva from his eyes just as I regained my footing and darted up the stairs to the rooftop. He thundered after me, reminding me of the previous night with Tank. Getting to the roof, I darted to the farthest edge and waited for Rhino to join. He snorted and his eyes were crazed. I guessed he must have been snorting cocaine or something similar to make him so angry in such a short while. I knew I could use this to my advantage, but I had to keep my wits about me. On the edge of my vision, I could see the crow watching the scene from the top of an antenna. Rhino, screaming with fury, charged at me. Quickly, I sidestepped and leapt the gap to the next building. Rhino stopped just in time before plummeting to certain death ten storeys below. I watched him carefully as he weighed up his options. He was obviously smarter than Tank, but still not smart enough. He backed up and running forward at full tilt, he jumped off the side of the building, obviously confident he would make it to the other side. I winced as his chest and lower body collided heavily with the brick building. His eyes widened with certain fear and his huge arms scrabbled for traction to pull himself up. I walked over to him and stared at him. "And so, another one bites the dust." I said, slamming the heel of my boot into his hand. Screaming as the bones in his hand were crushed, he let go with his other hand and plummeted to the concrete far below. I winced again as I watched him land. If it wasn't for the boot print on his hand, they could have put it down as suicide.

Leaping nimbly over the gap once more, I made my way down to the room I had met my adversaries. I'd just crawled in the window when I was forced back by a series of gunshots. I looked down at my body as the wound closed up instantly and gazed, amused, at Bronco, who was huddled on the floor, nursing his injured hand. I stepped into the room and walked over to the still unconscious Jackal. Cocking my head to one side, I watched as he stirred, blinking his eyes open. Holding my finger to my lips, I smiled at him before shoving his ballpoint pen up his nose. His head fell back as blood leaked from his eyes like tears. I stood up, straightening my jacket before making my way over to Bronco. Kneeling down beside him, I straightened his tie for him. "Shhh…" I whispered. "It will be over soon." I picked up his gun and put a hand over his mouth as I pointed it at his heart. The sound of the gun was depleted by the silencer attached to it and I put the gun back into his hands before taking my leave out the door. I could already hear the sirens arriving at the scene of Rhino's apparent suicide. Most likely called by a hysteric neighbour who went to put out her trash and found him. Best to take my leave before they found me and brought me in for questioning. Exiting out the ground floor fire exit, I melted into the shadows and let the rising sun and the crow guide me to my next target.

~::-|-::~

The crow flew ahead of me silently, leaving me to my thoughts. It was only when it cawed at me that I realise it had landed on a streetlight a few feet behind me and I had bypassed where I was meant to be. I backtracked quickly, understanding that my next destination was through the door to the dingy bar on the other side. Silently walking to the bar, I sat on a stool and waited for the bartender to come over.

"Tequila." I said. "And leave the bottle."

"You okay, _Senorita_?" The bartended asked, concerned.

"Fine." I said. The bartended shrugged and pulled out a shot glass and a bottle of tequila. Setting them both on the bar, he gave me a look.

"No funny business, eh?" He said, before walking off to serve another customer. I poured a shot and downed it quickly, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Hey Cruz! Bring us another round!" The yell came from across the bar. I looked around and peered through my hair to see three men playing poker. I watched them for a minute, taking note of the bartended bringing another tray of beer to them. Brushing my hair over where my eyes were meant to be, I picked up my bottle of tequila and made my way over.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked. The three of them were already pretty drunk and I took note of their eyes roaming over my body.

"Please…" The guy to my right said. "Want us to deal you in?"

"Oh yes…" I smiled. "I love poker." I sat down at the extra seat and poured another shot. "Anyone want some?" I asked, after waiting for the burning sensation to disperse.

"Sure!" The one across from me reached for the bottle and took a long swig out of it. The guy to me left slapped him upside the head.

"Stop drinking. Are you in or do you fold?" He asked. "Remember, Shadow, you still owe me four hundred and fifty-three bucks."

"Ah, fuck you." Shadow said, handing the bottle to the other guy. "You'll get the money back… just don't know when." He laughed hysterically for a minute before sobering up at his friend's look. "Oh, c'mon Warrior, it was a joke."

"Some joke." Warrior muttered, handing the bottle to the other guy who I could only assume was Fury. "So funny, I forgot to laugh."

"Dude, that saying went out in the nineties or something." Shadow said, rolling his eyes. "Get some new material."

"How would you know? You weren't even born then!" Fury said.

"Shut up! Neither were you, Fury!" Shadow snapped. _So I was right,_ I thought. _That_ **is** _Fury._

"Guys, guys…" I said calmly, accepting the bottle back from Fury. "Are we here to fight or here to play poker?"

The three men settled down and Warrior began to deal the cards again. "So, what's your name, friend?" He asked, his eyes having trouble focusing on me from the alcohol he'd consumed. I wrinkled my nose slightly at the odour of his breath.

"Raven." I said simply.

"Raven? I knew a Raven once…" Fury said, chuckling as if over some private joke. "But she died."

"How sad." I said. "How did she die?"

"Slit throat." Fury said. Shadow slapped him and looked at him warningly. "What?!"

"Stop running your mouth off, asshole." Shadow said. "She doesn't need to know all the gory details."

"Are you guys, like, mercenaries for hire or something?" I asked, curiously.

"Guess you could say that." Warrior shrugged.

"Cool." I said with a smirk. "Guess what? So am I." Before he knew what had happened, I had smashed the bottle and jammed the sharp glass into his fleshy face. He screamed as the glass pierced his eyes, rendering him blind, and his hands scrabbled to get the bottle off his face. With a flick of my wrist, I jammed the shot glass down his throat. From his belt as he fell, I grabbed the dagger I had noticed there and held it at Fury's throat. Fury was still too shocked to have moved, watching as his friend slowly choked to death, unable to breathe around the glass.

"Move and your friend here gets it," I said warningly to Shadow, whose hand was moving toward his belt for his own dagger. He froze, looking from me to Fury, trying to decide if I was bluffing or not. One look at his purple friend on the floor told him I was not to be messed with. He slowly sat down and put his hands on the table. "Now," I said. "Who gave you the order to crucify me?" Shadow, having seen my face, went pale. He didn't answer. Fury struggled slightly but stopped when I pressed the blade against his jugular.

"No one told us." Shadow finally said hoarsely. "Seriously. Don't hurt us. We're only Warlords. It was just a bit of fun."

"Only?" I threw my head back and laughed. "_Only_ Warlords? Just a bit of _fun_?!" Shadow looked at me, frightened. "You sacrificed me and hung me on a cross!" I said, my voice lowering. "Someone must have given you the order; you're too stupid to think of it yourselves!"

"The Big Cats…" Fury whimpered. "The Big Cats gave us the order. Cougar nailed you to the cross. There! I told you! Let me go!"

"In your dreams, Fury…" I whispered. Stabbing the dagger into his jugular, I threw his body aside and advanced toward Shadow, whose attempt to back away caused him to fall over backward on his chair. Straddling his torso, I ran my finger down the centre of his face, lacing it through the ring in his nose. "Maybe they should have called you Bull." I said, ripping the piercing out. Shadow screamed and I placed my hand over his mouth and drew my finger to my lips. "Quiet, Shadow… Shadows are silent, remember that." Pulling his dagger out of his belt, my other hand still over his mouth, I carved a crude 'R' in his forehead. Kissing my work before Shadow's blood began to run, I smiled at him and ran the blade quickly from ear to ear. Blood bubbled from his wound and his eyes rolled back in his head. Getting up off the body, I brushed my hair off my face. I became aware of the horrified silence in the bar and looked around at the few patrons that had watched my little display. Cruz, the bartender, looked frightened, as if I was going to kill him next.

"A debt repaid." I said simply, wiping my hands on Warrior's shirt. I strode out of the dingy bar and into the sunlight. Behind me, the horrified screams filled the air.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sir, we just got a call from a triple homicide at Cruz's bar." An officer said to Ramírez as he passed by his desk. "Witnesses are saying it was a ghost girl with no eyes."

"Not again…" Ramírez shook his head. Grabbing his jacket, he motioned for Quinlan to follow him as he headed out the door.

"What's all this about a ghost girl, sir?" Quinlan asked as they drove toward the bar. Ramírez shrugged.

"That witness, Mayte, or whatever her name is claims that the person who murdered Garcia was a girl with no eyes. I'm waging on a clever costume." They pulled up outside the bar, which was teeming with police officers and paramedics. Ramírez pulled back the sheet covering one man's face and felt his gut wrench at the sight of a tequila bottle embedded there. Covering the man's face back up, he nodded to the coroner to keep going. Walking into the shady bar, he let his eyes adjust to the dim light. Officers were still questioning the bar's occupants and the barkeep. Ramírez surveyed the scene and went over to the officer still questioning Cruz.

"…insane! She joined their poker game and the next time I looked up; she was stabbing that Warrior guy in the face with the tequila bottle!" Cruz was saying. "Couldn't see her face, but she was pretty fucking strange!"

"Could you pick anything else out about her?" The officer asked. "Like, did she have any tattoos?"

"Couldn't see. She was wearing this long coat. Leather, I think…" Cruz was wiping the bar with a grimy dishtowel, obviously agitated by the officer's repetitive questions. "Look, you goin' out there to find that _loco ella diablo_, or what?"

"We're doing the best we can, Cruz." The officer said. Ramírez frowned and took another look around the room, heading over to the discarded poker table. Cards and chips were scattered about among the remnants of glass from the bottle and a bloody knife lay on the floor. Taking out a pair of gloves, Ramírez picked up the knife and called over one of the officers to put it in an evidence bag. He sighed, having no doubt that this was connected to the killings that had occurred the previous night. Someone was picking off the scum of the worst underworld gang Ramírez had ever seen. Although it was appreciated, he needed to find out who it was.

~::-|-::~

"Ramírez, go home…" Covas said, leaning inside the door to the detective's office. "I appreciate your dedication to the job, but if you keep going like this, you'll be picked off like one of these underworld bastards." Ramírez looked up at his superior with red rimmed, tired eyes.

"Sir, what was all that about when that witness told you that that woman was a… crow?"

Covas hesitated. "Ah, its just some stupid Aztec legend or something." He said with a shrug. "Nothing to be alarmed about."

"You were alarmed about it." Ramírez pointed out. "Why?"

"No reason." Covas said, unconvincingly.

"Sir…" Ramírez started. "It didn't look like nothing last night. So what if it's some old Aztec legend or whatever… I need to know."

Covas sighed. "All right, but don't call me crazy afterwards, okay?" Ramírez nodded slightly, indicating to the chair on the other side of his desk, inviting his superior to sit down. Covas did so gratefully. "The legend is that a crow accompanies a soul to the land of the dead." He started. "Sometimes, if the death was particularly unjust, the crow will accompany it back to the Land of the Living and allow the person to make things right, so that they may walk in peace in the Land of the Dead."

Ramírez folded his arms and leaned on the desk. "And you believe this, sir?" He questioned.

"I didn't until about seventeen years ago." Covas said with a shrug. Ramírez looked confused. "I was a small town cop back then. In Lake Ravasu. Remember that murder last year, that crucified girl?"

"The one whose uncle you knew?" Ramírez asked.

"Yeah." Covas nodded. "I witnessed the Crow at work one night, picking off Satanists who had killed him." Ramírez looked at him disbelievingly. "You might think I'm making it all up." Covas continued. "But the truth is, I don't really know what I saw that night. But I do remember seeing the Crow, crucified on a cross in the old church."

"But if he was dead… how could he have been crucified?" Ramírez asked.

"His power had been taken away. The people who had killed him killed his connection to the afterlife. The crow." Covas shook his head. "Tanner convinced his father to do the Crow Dance to summon life back into the dead creature, therefore bringing life back to the man who'd been unjustly murdered. I watched the crucified man and the crow rise again from death." The detective fell silent.

"And after this… crow… kills those who murdered him, what happens then?" Ramírez asked uncertainly.

"He returns to his grave and walks freely in the Land of the Dead." Covas said, looking up. With a tight smile on his face, he got up from the chair. "Go home, Ramírez. Get some sleep."

The detective left the office, leaving Ramírez alone with his thoughts.

~::-|-::~

Brushing his hand over his face and he stumbled into his apartment, Ramírez reached for the light switch in the shadowy bedroom. Cursing softly as he realised the bulb must have blown, he sat down on the bed, bending down to unlace his boots.

"I much prefer the dark. I apologise for the inconvenience." A voice said to his left. Ramírez jerked up out of his bent position and reached for his gun, pointing it toward the shadow in the corner of his bedroom.

"Who are you?" He said, weariness chased away by fear. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." The voice said quietly. "You are the detective who was called to the scene of a murder last year, were you not, Detective Ramírez?"

"How do you know my name?" Ramírez asked, fear ebbing into his voice.

"Easy, it is on your nametag." The voice said, a audible smile dancing in it's tone. "You were the detective, weren't you?"

"I was called to many murder scenes last year." Ramírez said, forcing his hands to stop shaking so that he could steady his gun.

"Oh, this one you'd remember." The voice said. "This one was a crucified girl in her bedroom."

"Yeah, I was called to that one." Ramírez said warily. "How'd you know?" The figure got up out of it's chair and came forward. "Don't come any closer!" He warned. The figure didn't seem to listen and placed a delicate thumb over the muzzle of the gun. Its face was still in shadow. Suddenly it leaned forward and let the afternoon sun shine on its face.

"I am that girl." She said. Ramírez gasped and backed away as far as he could from the girl. "Do you remember me, Detective Ramírez?"

"Y-your eyes… what happened to your eyes?" He stuttered, his own eyes wide with fear.

"This?" The girl raised a hand to her face. "The handiwork of some fiends belonging to the Cyanide Nazi Order. Or so I've been told."

"By who?" He asked warily.

"Some of its members that I have become acquainted to." The girl said, moving back into the shadows.

"You're the one who's been killing off those scum?" Ramírez ask disbelievingly.

"Hard to believe that a girl is capable of killing?" She asked, dully. "I don't want to, but they deserve to die… not just for my murder, but for the murders of countless others." Her tone became bitter.

"Why me?" He asked finally, not lowering his gun, but getting the feeling that she wouldn't hurt him.

"Because you care." She said simply. "You're a good cop, Detective Ramírez. Keep up the good work." Before he could say anymore, the figure of the girl had disappeared out the window. Scrambling up from his bed, he looked down the building to see nothing there. On the street, however, he was sure he caught a glimpse of a long black coat, disappearing around the corner.

~::-|-::~

"So, we've lost some others now, have we?"

"I'm afraid so, Lady Byrne."

"Who is to blame for this tragedy?"

"We're not sure, Lady Byrne. Our police informant says witnesses are talking about a ghost girl with no eyes."

"Really?" Lola's mouth twitched into a small smile. "How interesting."

"My Lady?" Scorpio looked up, slightly confused at his mistresses reaction to this news.

"Yes, dear Scorpio?"

"Pardon my impudence, my Lady, but shouldn't we be out in force, looking for these vigilantes."

"You should, dear Scorpio." Lola agreed. "But never mind… they will come to us when the time is right. Now be a dear and leave me to my thoughts."

Scorpio bowed, kissing Lola's hand before leaving the room, trying not to worry about the impending doom that may befall the Order.

"Oh, Luc… I just knew she would come." Lola laughed gaily. "Unfortunately she is killing off our best muscle to get to us, but never fear… when you are returned to me, my love, we will show her who is the rightful being belong to this earth. And it won't be some little flapping eyeless crow!" The candles on the bureau fluttered with a nonexistent breeze and Lola smiled. "I know, baby… we will be together again soon."


	9. Chapter 9

By late afternoon, dark clouds had begun to roll in from the west, blotting out the sun as I followed the crow toward the outskirts of the city. I turned my face toward the sky, feeling the first of many heavy raindrops to fall. Spreading my arms wide, I fell to my knees and let the rain wash my mind clear.

Coming to my senses, I looked up at the crow, who was watching me from the telephone wire above me. "When does my real task begin?" I asked. "When will I fight the Devil himself?"

The crow did not answer, but merely spread its wings and took off again. The rain became heavier as I struggled to stand and let my feet carry me after the crow. The rain was matting my hair to my face and I struggled to push it back as I ran. Above my head, the clouds seemed to grow blacker, more evil-looking and I pushed on, determined to make it to my destination.

The crow cawed as it landed under an awning. I stopped under the awning and watched as the crow shook the drenching rain from its feathers. A shiver went up my spine as I looked up at the building by which we had stopped. The old meatworks. I remembered this was the place Leila had mentioned. The crow cawed lightly and alighted on my shoulder as I tried the door. Locked. Looking up at the crow, I shrugged my free shoulder and lifted my foot to kick open the door.

The crow jumped and cawed loudly as the metal door swung open and slammed against the wall. Walking in, I looked around the room at the two people who were there. "Where is the one call the Ice Queen?" I said coldly.

"Who's asking?" Sneered one man, picking up a rusted meat cleaver as he came toward me.

"Just an old friend." I answered with a smile, watching him carefully as he advanced. His friend watched us for a moment, before picking up an firefighter's axe and also advancing.

"This 'old friend' have a name?" The first one asked, holding the cleaver as if to throw it at me.

"She knows me… you have no business knowing my name." I told him calmly.

"Actually, I do…" The man grinned. "I need to know who I'm killing today." He raced toward me, the meat cleaver raised. I sidestepped him easily and he swung his arm out, the knife slicing through my coat and into my flesh as he passed. I winced as pain flooded through my arm, only to be tapered as the wound healed itself, knitting my skin back together without even a faint scar as a reminder. The man swung around, ready to take another pass and I backed up as he came toward me again.

"Havoc! Guard the stairs!" He yelled as he ran toward me. Pirouetting easily out of his way, my hand shot out and grabbed the wrist that was holding the meat cleaver. With strength I'd never have had when I was alive, I twisted the man's arm in such a way; he flipped over and landed on his back.

"Tell me where the Ice Queen is, and I may let you live a little longer." I said, keeping the young one called Havoc in my line of sight as well.

"Never! You'll never stop us!" The man grunted.

"Cobra!" Havoc cried, running toward me, swinging the axe like a man possessed. Quickly retrieving the meat cleaver from Cobra's hand, I raised my arm and threw the knife at the younger man, before he could carve me into pieces. The cleaver spun through the air and embedded itself between the young man's eyes before he had time to register what was going on. A small part of me felt bad for killing one so young – he was probably only about seventeen, maybe younger. I turned my face back down to my prey and smiled. "Cobra, Cobra, Cobra…" I said. "What type of name is that for a man who uses a meat cleaver as a weapon?" My hand still clamped firmly on his wrist, I twisted it suddenly, hearing the bones crack. Cobra screamed.

Suddenly, I felt the cold muzzle of a gun against my head. I heard the hammer click back and a cold voice say, "Don't move, ghost girl." I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.

"Believe me," I said. "I would be grateful if you just did it." I felt a slight tremor from the gun as the person behind me hesitated.

"Just shoot her, Hawk!" Cobra screamed. I turned to face the one they called Hawk. A woman, not much older than myself, stood there. Getting up so that I was eyelevel with her, I gently guided her gun hand so that the muzzle rested on my temple.

"Do what he says, Hawk. Shoot me." I said quietly. Another hesitation before the gun fired. I was thrown back by the force of the blast and crumpled to a heap on the floor.

"We'd better get upstairs and tell Isis we've gotten one of the vigilantes." I heard Hawk say, helping Cobra up by his good hand. Cobra just whimpered as they began to walk toward the metal stairs. Slowly, I got up and picked up the axe. Raising it above my head, I brought it down on the centre of Cobra's back, watching as his head snapped back with the force of the blow. With a crash, he tumbled passed me down the stairs and to the concrete floor below. I just had time to pull the axe out of his body before he fell. Hawk turned to face me, her eyes wide and frightened. "I shot you!" She exclaimed. I shrugged.

"You missed." I told her dismissively, before swinging the axe and sending her head flying from her body and to the concrete floor to join her friend. Blood sprayed from the decapitated body in front of me as it fell to its knees and slumped to one side. I ignored the squelching under my boots as I continued to the next landing.

"Where's Hawk gone?" I heard someone ask as I silently made my way up the stairs.

"She went down stairs to help Cobra and Havoc, I think." Another voice said. "Shouldn't be too long. It's not like they were doing anything _that_ important." The two people laughed.

"What are you two nattering about?" Growled a third voice, causing the other two to fall silent. "Get back to work. We need to be all ready for tonight."

"Yes, Falcon." Sighed the second voice. "Bastard…" it whispered under its breath. There was the sound of flesh slapping flesh and a female scream.

"I heard that, Militia. I don't have time for your bullshit tonight! None of us do! Get to work. NOW!"

"_Christo_. What's up his ass?" The first voice asked. "I know I've only been here a day, but shit, he seems uptight."

"He's always like that." Militia said dully. "Now, c'mon, Blade. We have to get this ready for the sacrifice tonight."

The two of them went back to whatever they were doing. As I stepped onto the platform, I could see that they were welding two pieces of metal together into a crude-looking cross. Stepping up behind them, I held the axe firmly by its handle. "What are you doing?" I asked, innocently.

"Don't give us that, Siren. You _know_ what we're doing." Blade said crossly. "Go back to kissing Venom's ass."

"I'm not Siren…" I said, waiting for the two of them to turn around and face me. Blade snorted and kept working on the cross. Militia turned to say something to me, but stopped when she saw me.

"Who are _you_?" She said, leaping to her feet, grabbing a metal pipe from beside her as a weapon. As it swung at me, I blocked her blow with the handle of the axe.

"Your nightmare." I said with a smile, the makeup on my face twisting my features into an unrecognisable mask. I parried her next blow and used the head of the axe to hit her in the chin. She stumbled backward, falling over Blade's crouched frame as she did so. Blade grunted as Militia's weight fell on him. Dropping the axe, I picked up the discarded welding torch and, dragging Militia up by her hair, I held it at her throat. "Where is the Ice Queen?" I asked in a dangerous whisper. "Tell me, Militia."

"You'll never win, vigilante." She grunted, struggling against my grip. I pulled the trigger of the welding torch, burning the skin on her neck where it touched. Militia screamed

"Tell me where she is, Militia." I said again, wedging the welding torch's end onto the burnt skin, making her cry out in pain.

"Up…upstairs." She finally croaked, still trying to struggle from my chokehold. "She's upstairs. Let me go!"

I smiled. "I don't think so," I stated calmly. Suddenly pain flooded through my back as I felt something hard hit me. Dazed, I managed to roll over just as the end of the pipe slammed into the floor where my head had been not two seconds before. Looking up, I saw Blade lifting the pipe again and I rolled to my left as he slammed the length of it onto the floor. Seeing my chance as he struggled to life the heavy pipe again, I raised my feet and kicked him in the chest, sending him reeling back and slamming into the banister protecting the first floor from a long fall to the concrete ground. The force of which I kicked him sent him tumbling over the safety rail and with a sickening crunch; he landed in the disused meat grinder. I didn't bother to look; my attention was elsewhere, searching for Militia as she hid from me behind the boxes. A shrill whistle pierced the air and I looked up the stairs to see the man they called Falcon racing down.

"What the fucking hell is going on here?" He yelled, his eyes as wild as his hair. Taking one look at me, he swore and pulled a rusty meat hook off his belt. As he advanced toward me, I picked up my axe, swinging it through the air and slamming the pick end of it into his hand. With a scream, he dropped the meat hook, looking at the sharp pick embedded in his hand. Pulling it out, I turned it and buried the blade into his ribcage. He fell, choking up the blood that was flooding his lungs and consequently, buried the blade deeper into his body.

Picking up the meat hook, I prowled the area between boxes silently, looking for Militia. Before long, I found her cowering behind a large crate that had probably once housed parts for the meat grinder in which her friend Blade no resided. "Why do you run, Militia?" I asked, kneeling down beside her. "Why must you make it hard for yourself?" I stood up, taking her hand and helping her up. "Shhh…" I said softly, placing my finger on her lips. She never saw my hand as it swung the meat hook into her liver. She choked as I buried it deeper, lifting her up as I did so. "I'm sorry…" I whispered, before advancing toward the stairs.

As I ran up the stairs to the third floor, I heard a voice yell, "Isis! Run! We'll hold them off!" I smiled wryly to myself. I heard the tap-tapping of shoes making their way up a metal ladder as I got to the top of the stairs. Something flew past me at high speed, flipping my hair away from my face.

"You _idiot_, Siren! You _missed_!" I looked toward where the voice was coming from and saw a woman holding a compound crossbow aimed at me. An older woman was glaring at me with pure hate as the younger one called Siren reloaded her weapon. As she pulled the bolt back, I ducked and rolled to the left, picking up an unused length of chain that had been left on the floor. Another bolt skimmed past my side, slicing the skin there. I grunted, before whipping the chain towards the older woman. The end of the chain wrapped around her neck and I yanked her to me, using her body as a shield. "Shoot me, Siren, and your friend here dies." I said coldly. The girl's expression hardened and she pulled the bolt back. The woman in front of me gave a harsh bark of laughter.

"I don't care about dying, vigilante!" She said, though her fingers were digging at the chain to try and free herself. I smiled.

"Good to know." I said, tightening the chain around her neck. She gagged as the metal dug into her flesh.

"Let her go!" A man's voice echoed throughout the room. I looked up to see a man holding a pump action shot gun levelled at my head. I smiled, backing up against the railing.

"You kill me, you kill her." I said simply, kicking the loose end of the chain around the railing. I looked back up at him and bent the woman over the railing.

"Let her go, vigilante!" The man yelled again, cocking the shotgun.

"If you're sure…" I said with a shrug. I pushed the woman over the side, my foot planted firmly on the loose end of the chain.

"Nooooooo! Mayhem!" Siren screamed, running forward to look over the edge. The woman called Mayhem swung from the chain, the sheer force of the fall having broken her neck. Sobbing, Siren turned and pointed the crossbow at me, tears clouding her vision. "You'll pay for that…" She said, forcing her sobs back.

"I'm sure I will." I agreed, my hand flicking out and pointing the weapon at the ceiling, causing her to shoot a bolt through the rusting corrugated iron.

A close-range shot rang out and I felt a bullet pass through my body. Turning, I saw the man had crept up behind me, looking shocked that I was still standing. Turning to look at Siren again, I saw the bullet had passed through me and into her stomach. She'd dropped the crossbow and the bolts, her hands gripping her stomach. "You… shot me, Venom…" She groaned, falling forward. I turned back to the man called Venom and snatched the gun from his hand. The gun came freely and I aimed it at him.

"Didn't your mother tell you that you couldn't kill the dead?" I asked, pumping the gun and aiming at his head. "Where did the Ice Queen go?"

"I'll never say." He said, his hands up, but his expression dark as the clouds outside.

"Oh, you will." I said, lowering the gun to point at his crotch. "Tell me, Venom."

The man went white and whimpered slightly. "Grupo Decosi!" He said quickly. "Please… She went to Grupo Decosi! Please, let me go!"

I lowered the shotgun slightly. "The industrial warehouses?" I asked. The man in front of me nodded and I was surprised to see a wet patch spreading over the front of his pants. "For a man who is with a tough underworld crime ring, you sure scare easily…" I muttered, flipping the gun and hitting him in the side of the head with the stock. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

Picking up the crossbow and bolts, I hid them beneath my coat. They would surely come in handy at some point. Looking at the unconscious man and the girl slowly bleeding to death, I silently took one of the bolts out of the bag and sliced each of their throats with the sharp end. I couldn't let them suffer… and I couldn't afford to have them squeal on me to their bosses. I placed my hand over Siren's eyes and closed them for her, before straightening up and making my way downstairs to the door from which I had entered.


	10. Chapter 10

"What do you mean, we've lost the meatworks team?!" Taurus asked savagely. Isis bowed her head, hoping not to become the target of the man's rage. "_You_ were meant to be watching out for that vigilante group!"

"It wasn't a vigilante group, sir. It was one girl."

"_One girl_!?" Taurus snarled. "You mean to tell me that the meatworks team, consisting on _nine_ of our finest, couldn't take down one _girl_!?"

"Truthfully, sir, I am unable to comprehend as to how she got passed them all." Isis looked at her boots, chewing her lip nervously.

Taurus snorted. "Taurus!" The big man turned and bowed his head.

"Yes, My Lady." He said gruffly, kissing the woman's hand.

"What is all this commotion? All I can hear is your yelling."

"Isis claims that the meatworks team has been dismantled."

Lola turned her strange gaze to the woman behind Taurus. "Is that so, Isis? Have we lost the entire meatworks crew?"

"I believe so, My Lady." Isis said in a small voice. "One of the vigilantes took them down. I don't know how she managed it."

Lola sighed. "It's all right, Isis." She said slowly, holding up a hand to stop Taurus's comment. "Please, go and tell the Elements to meet with the Zodiacs and myself in the main chamber. I wish to speak with them before we begin the ritual. I want everything to be perfect when that time comes. Taurus, ready the Big Cats and tell them to guard the ground floor. I want to be ready if these vigilantes try to interrupt our little ceremony. Also," she paused. "Make sure our guest is completely comfortable."

Taurus snorted and walked away, his fists clenching and unclenching in annoyance. Isis bowed her head, and hurried out the door to tell her fellow Elements the message. Lola walked back to her room and surveyed Luc's photograph, now framed and sat between the two lighted candles.

"It's almost time, baby." She said with a smile. "Soon we will be together again and we shall be rid of the little eyeless Raven. We will be free."

~::-|-::~

"The Lady Byrne has something to say to you." Gemini said, addressing the ten people in the room. "Some information regarding the ritual tonight."

The Elements turned their gazes to the woman in the feathered mask, their leader. She looked at them with the eyes that she had supposedly stolen from one of her many victims.

"Children." She said softly. "Tonight is the night that we've been waiting for. Tonight is the night that we welcome Death back into our ranks!" She looked at each one of them in turn. "I know you have all heard of these vigilantes that have been notching our brothers and sisters into their belt. We all have. I am sad to say that we must add some more of our kinsmen to the long list of deceased. Hawk and Falcon, of the Bird team; Venom and Cobra, of the Snake team; and sadly, our newest recruits are those among the deceased in the War team. Lest we forget our brothers and sisters, Havoc, Mayhem, Siren, Militia and Blade." Lola bowed her head. The group did so as well.

"But that means we have none of those teams left!" A voice said from the back of the room. "We've lost all the lower teams now! Who's to say these vigilantes won't start picking us off?!"

Lola lifted her head to see who had spoken. Blaze looked steadily at her, his brow creased by a deep frown.

"It is a terrible loss, Blaze. I know you had family in those teams. I'm sorry." Lola lowered her head. "But that is why I have called you here this evening. I have known of this so-called vigilante for some time."

"If you knew about them, why didn't you stop them?!" Thunder called out, agitated. Lola glared at him for speaking out of turn.

"I have known about _the_ vigilante, Thunder. There is only one. She is a girl whom has been summoned back by the Crow."

"That's just an old wives tale!" Scoffed Storm. "Anyone who believes that rubbish should be sent off to the loony bin!"

"Remember, I have been there, Storm." Lola said quietly. "I believe in the legend of the crow. I have seen it happen. I also know how to destroy it." She looked around at her gathered followers. "Tonight, she will make her presence known. She will have with her a bird. A crow. It is this crow that gives her the power. Kill the bird, you kill the girl."

"Then we will do it now!" Said Hurricane. "A girl with a pet crow won't be hard to find!"

"No!" Lola said, glaring at the Wind Rider. "You will not harm her until I say. We will let her find her way here so that she may witness the rebirth of Death."

~::-|-::~

"Let me go!" Ramírez yelled, clasping the bars of his cage tightly. "You can't hold me here like this! I am an officer of the law!"

"Quit ya yapping." The man at the desk said. "We'll let ya go when the boss says we let ya go, _Detective_." He sniggered.

"How dare you! I can put you up on charges of false arrest and wrongful imprisonment and obstructing an officer in the course of his duty!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Heard it all before." The man yawned. "You can't book me for anything, anyway. We nabbed you when you were at home… technically, you're a civilian." He grinned.

"Lynx, stop teasing our guest." A woman sauntered into the room and lay an arm across Lynx's shoulders. "Really, sweetie, you really must learn some manners." She kissed his cheek.

"Probably." Grinned Lynx. "But then the fun of the game would be gone… and you know how much I like to have fun, Cheetah."

"I do." Purred Cheetah. "I certainly do. Come on. We've been summoned to guard the ground floor. Taurus and Scorpio will be here to escort our guest to where he needs to be in a few minutes.

"All right." Lynx sighed, getting up out of his chair. Picking up his machete, which had been leaning against the wall, he pointed it at Ramírez. "No funny business, Pig." He warned. "Or old Sasha here will make you into a new coin purse for my girl." He put his arm and Cheetah and they walked off laughing. Ramírez watched them go, fear mounting in him quickly and intensely. He didn't know why he had been brought here or why he'd been chosen. He just knew he had to get out. _Now_.

~::-|-::~

"You are to keep guard of the ground floor, should the vigilantes make their way here tonight. You will guard our Lady with honour. If you fall, you fall for her." Taurus told the five assembled members of the Big Cat team. "Lynx and Cougar, you'll be at the front of the building, making sure no one gets passed and up the stairs. Cheetah and Panther, you'll be in the stairwell, just in case the vigilantes manage to sneak passed or manage to overpower Lynx and Cougar." He glared at the letter, as if daring them to talk. "As for Sabre Tooth, you'll be guarding the landing that leads to the main chamber. Anyone who comes up those stairs must be dealt with accordingly, do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The five Cats saluted, before shouldering their weapons and making their way to their posts.

"I don't see how five of us are going to keep a group of vigilantes away from the proceedings." Cheetah mused as she and Panther took up their residences in the stairwell.

"If you ask me, I don't think there are any vigilantes." Panther said with and roll of her eyes. "My guess is that the higher ups are killing off the lowers to keep the secret of Death's reincarnation between them."

"That's a cheerful thought." Cheetah said disgustedly. "If that's true, I'm hoping you die first."

"Feeling's mutual, love." Panther grinned toothily. "Just make it quick and neat so that I don't have to step in your blood on the way out."

"Who said you'd be left to live, bitch?" Cheetah smirked. "Anyway, when we've got these…" She indicated to their weapons – a set of nun chucks and a sledgehammer. "Who's to say anyone will get passed us?"

"Right on, sister." Panther grinned, slapping her a high five. "Bring it on, vigilantes. We're gonna kick your asses!"


	11. Chapter 11

The rain was pouring down by the time I had arrived at Grupo Decosi. The clouds painted the sky an inky black colour and on the horizon, they seemed to be forming in a sickly green colour. By the time I had finally gotten to the industrial warehouses, I was soaked to the bone and hail was beginning to rain down as well as the water which now gathered in puddles at me feet. The crow shook a wave of water off its back and alighted on my shoulder, cawing softly as if to encourage me.

"I'm going…" I murmured, placing my hand on the large sliding door to the first warehouse. It smelled musty, but at least it was dry. I peered into the gloom as best I could. A crow's eyes were not made for seeing in the dark. The warehouse looked like it hadn't been used in some time. I squinted, making sure it was deserted before advancing forward. Who knew how many people they had guarding this place since Isis had come back.

_Thwap_!

I ducked just in time as a large machete skimmed the air where my head had been not a second before. The blade of the weapon lodged itself into one of the boxes to my right and its owner seemed to be having trouble dislodging it. With a spinning kick, I knocked my assailant's legs from under him. With a grunt, he fell to the floor, his hand letting go of the machete. I straddled him, kneeling my left knee on his right arm so that he couldn't move it. He cried out in pain.

"Where is Isis?!" I demanded, my hand wrenching the machete out of the crate and holding it to his throat. "Where is she?"

He spat in my face. "I'll never tell you, vigilante."

I pressed the blade closer to his throat and used a finger to wipe up a droplet of blood that rolled down the side of his neck. Raising my finger to my lips, I licked it clean, not once removing my eyes from the man under me. "Pity…" I said. "You would have made an interesting adversary."

"That's what you think, little girl." The man below me chuckled darkly. Coming to my senses, I heard an almost-silent footstep behind my back. I rolled to the side quickly.

"N-!" I looked at the man I had been pinning down. Embedded in his head was a lethal looking aluminium baseball bat, rusty nails driven through its head. I looked up at the man who had wielded it and grinned.

"Good shot." I said, rising to my feet. "Pity you missed your target."

"Lynx!" The man said, obviously distressed. He turned to me, his eyes blazing. "You'll pay for that, little girl!" He growled, freeing his weapon from Lynx's head. I grinned.

"I thought Lynx already paid for it." I mused, ducking as the man swung the bat at me again. "Now, now…" I taunted, ducking again. "Coach always told you to keep your eye on the ball." I lifted Lynx's machete and blocked his next blow with millimetres to spare.

"The world is full of wiseasses." The man grunted. "And it's about to lose one!" He brought the bat down heavily against the machete, sending sparks flying. The sharp blade of the knife cut through the aluminium like butter and momentum buried it half way through the bat. I wrenched the knife out and in doing so, threw the bat out of the man's hands and across the room. I pointed the machete under his chin, breathing heavily.

"Where is Isis?" I demanded, advancing closer so that the blade touched the man's neck lightly. He raised his hands in surrender, watching me carefully.

"She ain't here." He said finally. "She never comes here."

"Liar." I said, jabbing him with the machete again, forcing him to back up. "Where is Isis? Tell me and I will let you keep your head."

"You think you can threaten me, little girl?" The man smirked. "I am not afraid of dying. In fact it will be a great honour to die in the service of my Lady."

"Isis?" I prompted. The man laughed.

"Isis is stupid and weak. She only initiates our newest followers.

"Who _is_ you Lady?" I asked again, forcing him backwards a little more toward the wall. "And what would she say when she found out that you killed one of your own?"

"Casualty of war." The man shrugged. "He died while protecting our Lady." He smirked. "Go ahead, little girl. Kill me if you wish. You won't get any other answer from me."

A loud shriek was heard from upstairs. I raised my head to gaze where the sound had come from. Seeing his chance, the man grabbed the machete and in and instant, the tides were turned.

"Any last requests, little girl?" He grinned. I eyed the blade in his hand and shrugged.

"Maybe one…"

"Oh? And what's that?" He advanced toward me, forcing me backwards.

"I want to know who screamed just then."

"That's something you'll never find out." He smirked, advancing toward me again. "You will die before you ever hear the answer."

"Just one question." I said. "How do you kill someone who is already dead?"

"Huh?" He looked confused for a minute and pulled the crossbow out of my coat. I aimed at him with narrowed eyes.

"Tell me where Isis and your 'Lady' are." I demanded, pulling the bolt back on the crossbow with a snap. The man eyed my weapon. "That's Siren's crossbow." He said finally.

"It is." I agreed. "Wasn't she nice as to give it to me?"

"What did you do to my niece, you bitch?" He demanded, his eyes growing dark with rage.

"Me?" I asked. "I did nothing but end her suffering."

"You lie." He growled.

"No." I said simply. "You friend Venom was the one that shot her." I frowned. "Now tell me where your 'Lady' is and I will make sure that you meet your niece in Hell."

He laughed. "Good try, vigilante." He said with a smirk. "But tonight, Hell will be coming to earth!"

I stayed silent, taking aim.

"Shoot me, girl! What are you waiting for?!" He yelled. I shrugged, pulling the trigger. The man in front of me stood for a minute, swaying gently before crashing to the floor, the bolt lodged in the middle of his forehead. I looked down at the body in front of me, as if seeing it for the first time. The man wore only a black tank top and black military style pants. His right upper arm sported a large, ferocious looking tattoo of a mountain lion.

"So… you're Cougar…" I said, looking down at him. "Join your niece." I closed his eyes, not wanting to look at his dead gaze. Hiding the crossbow under my coat once more and looking up at the crow, I held out my arm so that it could alight. It flew down and rested on my shoulder, its eyes studying me.

_You feel remorse for those who murdered you, Raven-child?_

"A little…" I murmured, picking up the machete again. "I'd never have given a thought to killing someone while I was alive."

_Not even someone who threatened a person you loved?_

"I don't know… why do you ask?" I frowned, staring at the bird. It cawed softly but said no more. I sighed. "Are you going to give me full answers or do I have to ask again?"

_Were you like your father in life as you are in death?_

"I don't know…" I said slowly. "I barely knew my father."

The crow fell silent once more and no amount of prompting would get it to converse with me again. I shrugged. Stepping over Cougar's body, I held the machete loosely at my side. Making my way to the only door I could see, I stopped before I opened it, listening carefully. All was silent. "That doesn't mean shit, Raven…" I murmured to myself. Carefully, I opened the door, my grip tightening on the handle of the machete in case I needed to use it.

"Murderer!" A female voice rang out and I felt a sudden, sharp pain connect with my wrist that was still resting on the doorknob. I cried out in pain and fell to my knees as my wrist shattered, holding my injury to me as I felt the bones slowly knit together again. The crow cawed and took off, gaining height as two women swatted at it.

"Leave it!" One yelled, turning back to me. She held a sledgehammer in her hands and I felt the tiniest ounce of fear well up in the pit of my stomach. The other woman turned back toward me, her hands flipping a set of nunchaku expertly from one to the other. I chewed my lip, the ounce of fear in my stomach expanding slightly.

"You and your kind have caused us a lot of pain, vigilante." The sledgehammer woman growled. "I should kill you where you are."

"Oh, come on, Panther… everyone knows cats toy with their prey before killing it." The nun chuck girl smirked. I looked up at her, noting that she didn't seem shocked by my eyeless face.

"How did you sneak passed Lynx and Cougar, girl?" Panther dragged me up by the lapel of my jacket. I looked at her steadily, the fear suddenly deflating.

"I didn't." I said simply. "They're dead."

The nun chuck girl stopped flipping her weapon. Her face was pale. "You lie!" She growled. "No one could kill them! No one!"

"See for yourself." I shrugged. "I can tell you exactly how they died, if you like."

The woman came forward and slapped my face hard. I took the blow without retaliating and sighed. Panther kept a firm grip of my coat as the other woman went to investigate the warehouse, to see if my claims were true.

"No! Lynx!" I heard her scream. Seconds later, I felt myself being pushed against the open door. "You killed him!" The woman growled, forcing the shaft of the nunchaku against my neck, blocking off my airways. I gagged, trying to shake my head.

"Cheetah, let her explain herself before we kill her. Then we may give Lynx the funeral he deserves." Panther growled, using her free hand to grab Cheetah's shoulder.

Cheetah loosened her hold against me and I fell forward, coughing and choking as I filled my lungs with oxygen. I looked up at the two women from my foetal position on the floor. They both glared down at me, waiting for my explanation.

"Burn in hell." I said, my voice raspy. My newly healed hand shot up and grabbed the loose end of the nunchaku and twisted them out of Cheetah's hand. Before she could even utter a surprised yell, I let the twin handle smash into the side of her head. Clutching her head, Cheetah stumbled backward, falling onto the descending stairwell, tumbling head over foot to the bottom. My expression did not change as I heard the bones in her neck snap.

Turning back to Panther, I raised the machete I had managed to grab from the floor in the confusion. Her gaze was empty as she raised the sledgehammer over her shoulder. "Get ready to die, _mujer de la bruja_." She said, coldly. I cocked my head to one side and smiled.

"I am ready." I answered. With a battle scream, she swung the heavy weapon at me by its wooden handle. I parried her blow and felt the hammerhead whistle past my face. Bringing the machete down, I easily slice through the handle, splintering the wood and spraying ships and splinters into Panther's eyes. She gave a cry of pain as she was partially blinded by the wood and I held the blade at her throat.

"Get ready to die." I said, equally as coldly. Then I brought the blade of the machete swinging through the air and through her neck.

~::-|-::~

After ridding myself of the two wildcat women, I sat for a minute on the stair, catching my breath before continuing my trek. I looked around for the crow, but couldn't see it anywhere. I wondered where it had gotten to; it had barely left my side since I had crawled out of that grave. I sighed. Perhaps this was the part of my task to go on alone. I stood up, gripping the metal banister with one hand, pulling myself up the metal staircase, my boots thudding hollowly as I ascended the stairs.

Out of no where, a flash of pain sliced through my chest as I reached the top. I gasped, falling to my knees again. Looking down, I saw the jagged edge of a Japanese shuriken jutting out from my sternum.

"Well, well, well…" A big man said from across the room. "So this is the vigilante ghost girl I've heard so much about." He walked forward. I held my hands to my chest, pressing my wound, hoping to stem the blood flow. He knocked my hands aside easily and wrenched the shuriken out of my chest. I cried out as he did so, feeling the deep cut slowly knitting together. The big man in front of me watched the phenomenon happen, his eyebrows knitting together with interest. "So, a worthy adversary… a crow." He mused. "I've always thought that legend to be an old wives tale…" He used his boot to kick me onto my back. I grunted as the wind was knocked out of me. "They've been telling us it was a whole group of vigilantes…" He muttered, mostly to himself.

"That so?" I rasped, struggling to get my breath back.

"And yet it's only you isn't it?" He hadn't seemed to have heard my reply. "Though, I must say… you are a pretty one… even without your eyes." He squinted, letting the hand holding his shuriken drag along my stomach. "Tell me, crowling… do you feel pain?" He jammed the sharp edge of the weapon into my gut. I screamed and his ugly face split into a grin. "I'll take that as a yes, then…" He stabbed me again with the shuriken and I felt my breath grow short as the pain flooded through me. What was happening to me? Why wasn't I healing as quickly as usual? "Where is your crow guide, crowling?" He asked, stabbing me again. I choked and spat blood in his face. His expression took on a menacing scowl. "WHERE'S THE FUCKING BIRD?!" He yelled.

"I don't know…" I whispered. "I don't know…" My vision was hazy, but suddenly I felt strength renew and flood through my veins. Just as the man above me was about to bring his lethal weapon stabbing into me a third time, my foot connected with his crotch. I watched as his eyes bulged in their sockets and he went down. I rolled out from under him just in time. Staggering to my feet, I watched as my wounds healed slowly, much more slowly than before, and picked up the dropped shuriken. Pocketing it, I pulled the second last bolt for the crossbow out of its bag. Digging my knee into his spine, I held the point lightly at the base of his neck. "What is your name?" I demanded softly.

A soft grunt was all I got in reply and I dug the point of the bolt harder into his skin. "What is your name?!" I demanded again.

"Sabre… Sabre Tooth…" The man winced in pain as the bolt dug into the tender flesh.

"Well, Sabre Tooth… may your sins be forgiven… thought I highly doubt they will." I said, shoving the pointed weapon into the base of his neck, severing the brainstem and causing instant death.

Getting up, I brushed my hair out of my face and turned to face the door that Sabre Tooth had been guarding. Gathering what was left of my courage; I put my hand on the doorknob and twisted it open. Walking into the dark room, I let my vision adjust.

"Ah, just in time. Our guest of honour has arrived."


	12. Chapter 12

The door opened to reveal a young girl, no older than twenty years of age. Lola smiled in the flickering firelight. "Ah, just in time. Our guest of honour has arrived." She mused, walking forward so that Raven could see her face. "Welcome Raven…"

"How do you know my name?" The girl frowned.

"Oh, I know many things about you, Raven." Lola chuckled. "Many, many things… I've had my eyes on your for a long time."

"You mean _my_ eyes." The girl stated, getting a good look at Lola's face behind the feathered mask. Lola smiled.

"Yes… I really ought to thank you for giving them to me, Raven… they've done me a great service over the last year. Boys," She flicked her wrist. "Make sure our guest is completely comfortable."

Two strong men suddenly appeared on either side of the girl, grabbing her upper arms and dragging her to a chair positioned in the middle of the floor.

"Let me go!" The girl yelled, struggling in vain against the tight grips of her captors. The one on her left, Thunder, sniggered.

"Now, now, Raven… that's no way to treat hospitality." Lola murmured, walking back up to the altar and the other end of the room. "Besides, you're not our only guest here tonight. I believe you may have already met?"

A woman pulled a curtain back to reveal Ramírez lashed and nailed to the metal cross that Blade and Militia had been working on at the meatworks. His mouth was stuffed with a rag to prevent him from screaming. Thunder and Hurricane held Raven as she began to struggle all the more.

"What are you going to do to him?!" She demanded.

"Oh… nothing that will permanently damage him." Lola said, a slight smile on her face. "He is just to be the human sacrifice to summon my husband beck from the dead."

"What kind of drugs are you on, Lady?! You can't raise anyone from the dead!" Raven said hysterically, struggling against the ever-tightening grip of Hurricane and Thunder's huge hands.

"That's where you're wrong, little Raven." Lola said, running a finger down Ramírez's face and tapping his nose jovially. "Hang him up, boys." She said, stepping away from the prisoner as four big men attached a chain to the foot-end of the cross. Ramírez's muffled yell as his feet began to rise above his head was drowned out by the clanking of the chain.

"I have to thank you, little Raven, for making such quick work of the subordinates." Lola murmured in the girl's ear as she came to stand beside her, watching as Ramírez was hung upside down. "I was wondering how I was going to get rid of them, but you did it so neatly. I applaud you."

"Burn in hell." Raven said, struggling again. Lola laughed lightly.

"Believe me, I will." She smirked. "And rule with my husband at my side."

"Your husband is…" Raven murmured, a look of realisation coming over her face.

"That's right, little Raven… my husband is the master of disaster himself." Lola said wit ha coy smile. Raven's face went expressionless.

"I want to know something." She said in an almost conversational tone.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Lola cooed.

"Why are you hanging your sacrifice on a Petrine Cross?"

"Don't be silly…" Lola laughed lightly. "This is the cross of the Antichrist."

"You never paid attention in Religious Education…" Raven muttered, turning her gaze to the corner. Lola looked at the girl, annoyed.

"What do you mean by that, little bird?" She asked. Raven shrugged.

"What you have there is a St Peter's Cross." She said, nodding her head toward Ramírez. "The cross that St Peter was crucified on because he did not feel worthy of dying in the same manner as Jesus Christ."

"Well, aren't you just a little fountain of information." Lola sneered. Raven shrugged again.

"I was in a Christian Home for Children, lady… You said so yourself that you know all about me, so you should know that."

Lola glared at the impertinent girl in front of her and slapped her cheek. Raven took the blow without as much as a wince. "I don't have time for impertinent little girls." She said darkly. "I have a ritual to complete." She marched back up to the altar and looked at the upside down cross, swinging gently, in front of her. Ramírez had tears of pain flowing down his forehead and Lola smiled. "Shh…" She whispered, kissing his forehead. "It will all be over soon."

Turning to the altar, she lit the large red candles on either side of the open book and began to recite in a low voice.

"_The hour is here and the moon is high_

_Bring forth the chosen toward the sky_

_Let him breathe in the crisp night air_

_And rejoin in marriage with his woman fair._"

Raven snorted slightly as she listened to the incantation. Thunder growled menacingly at her. "What?" She whispered. "You don't actually believe this bullshit, do you?" She looked up at him and saw him flinch at her eyeless face. "Hey… can you maybe loosen your grip a bit. My hands are cold…" She said, still looking steadily at him. He shuddered. Those hollow sockets made him uncomfortable.

"I don't do nothin' unless the Lady orders it." He said gruffly. Raven sighed.

"Pity." She said, letting her hand slide discreetly into her pocket and pull out Sabre Tooth's shuriken.

"What you mean by that?" Thunder demanded. "You think you so smart, little girl."

"No I don't… I was just commenting on the fact that you're too stupid to think for yourself." She said, before making a quick move to stab the shuriken into Thunder's leg. With a yelp of pain as she buried the weapon deep into his thigh muscle, Thunder let go and fell to one knee, his huge meaty hands holding the injury, his thick fingers fumbling to get the sharp disc out of his leg. Hurricane, distracted by his friend's yell, let go of Raven so as to inspect the injury.

Lola ignored the commotion behind her and kept reciting the incantation, feeling an icy wind blow about the room, sending goose bumps up her bare arms. The candles flickered dangerously and Ramírez screamed as the nails ripped at his feet. The rope around his ankles prevented him from falling and therefore prevented him from suffocating. The sweat poured from him in rivulets as he watched the commotion behind his captor.

Raven had managed to grab Hurricane's gun as he let go of her arm and aimed at the advancing Elements. Shooting at one, she leapt up with surprising strength and caught a hold of the rafter above her head. Looking down, she saw eight people glaring up at her and each holding a gun trained on her. She laughed down at them, a cold, chilling laugh that had many of her would-be assassins shuddering at the laugh reached them right down in their soul.

"Maybe we are all to die tonight." She mused, throwing her gun down to them and holding up her hands. "Kill me. I beg you."

The first shot rang out from Isis, the Ice Maiden, who had been unperturbed by the chilling laughter. Raven fell back against the rafter as if dead. When she didn't move, the Elements looked at each other in wonder. Had Lola been lying about this girl who could not be killed?

A scream of pain caused them all to look up again at the rafter. It was empty. Tornado stood holding his injured arm; the area of the Humerus was rapidly starting to swell as the fracture became apparent.

"The bitch kicked me!" He yelled hoarsely. They all looked around, trying to find the girl who had played dead not two minutes ago. There was a loud gunshot and Tornado swayed for a minute before crashing to the floor.

"I've always been told if a horse breaks its leg, we have to shoot it." A bodiless voice emitted from above their heads.

"Show yourself, demon!" Isis screamed. Raven laughed.

"Um… nah… then it's not as much fun." She replied.

The wind was picking up in the still room and Raven looked up at the altar to see Lola in a deep trance. A black cloud was beginning to form on the altar in front of her as she chanted, her voice becoming deeper, guttural as she continued. Raven jumped down from the rafter, her boots connecting with another thug's neck, throwing the man forward as the force broke his neck.

"No! Blaze!" A woman wailed, looking around wildly for her brother's assailant, her gun pointing at each thug in turn. "Where are you?!" She screamed.

"Right here." The woman, Inferno, turned to see the girl standing behind her. Before she could react, the girl placed a high kick to her chin, causing her to fall down, lifeless on the floor, her jaw and neck broken at an impossible angle. Raven looked at the remaining thugs, waved daintily and seemed to disappear into thin air. The thugs were left staring stupidly until there was a dull clang and Isis fell in a heap. Raven smiled, holding up the fire extinguisher and shrugged. "Who knew it could be used for so much more than putting out fires?" She wondered, turning the nozzle toward the remaining thugs and blinded them with a cloud of Halon. "Wow…" She murmured as the group coughed and spluttered. "I thought they got rid of Halon in the late nineties…" She shrugged.

Suddenly, an arm shot out of the cloud and grabbed her wrist before she could make her escape once more. "I've got her!" Hurricane cried, dragging her into the quickly dissipating mist. "This'll teach you to mess with the Cyanide Nazis, crow girl!" He growled, twisting her arm behind her back. She winced.

A loud cawing made Hurricane turn his head and he screamed as he felt talons dig into the soft flesh around his eyes. He loosened his grip on Raven, who ducked out of the way as he swatted at the crow and ran blindly toward the group of thugs. They parted so that he wouldn't run into any of the, though Storm tried to stop him by grabbing his arm. He shook her off and ran blindly out the door, stumbling over Sabre Tooth's body on the top step and fell to his death on the landing below.

The remaining Elements looked at each other, realising that their number had been halved quite effectively by just one girl and her crow. They raised their guns and cocked back the hammers as they aimed at the girl. Raven leapt back into the rafters to join the crow which had alighted there in the shadows. Looking back toward the altar, Raven saw that the cloud had become human shaped and was solidifying slowly, Lola still deep in a trance as she continued to chant the incantation that would bring her husband back from the dead. Raven clenched her fists. She needed to stop the incantation before it was too late.

The crow cawed warningly and Raven looked up as she saw Cyclone take aim with his gun, having found her hidden in the shadows. Leaping to one side as the bullet whizzed passed her, she swung down from the rafter flashing a dagger out Cyclone's own belt and pressing it against his jugular. "Shoot me and your friend dies." She warned the last three as they advanced upon her. Their advance slowed. Now that Isis was gone, that left Cyclone as the leader of the Elements.

"What are you doing?!" Cyclone growled. "Shoot her!"

Raven smiled as she heard a gun being cocked and quickly pirouetted around the big man's body, letting the knife slide around his neck daintily as she did so. Cyclone gurgled as blood rushed from his jugular and Raven pushed his failing body into his subordinates. In shock, Storm's finger closed around the trigger of her gun. The bullet shooting Cyclone in the chest.

"No!" She cried, tears springing to her eyes. Looking at Raven she levelled her gun at the girl's head as tears ran down her face. "For that, _Bruja_, you will die…" She said, choking back sobs. She cocked her gun and Raven smiled, holding up her hands in surrender.

"Not a witch." She said quietly. "A Crow."

As Storm's gun went off, Raven ducked and tackled the woman overcome by grief. Using Cyclone's knife to stab the woman in the chest, she wiped her hair from her face and looked up at the two beefy men who were left standing.

"Who's next?" She asked simply.

They stared at her dumbly for a minute, finally realising that their guns would not hurt her. Lunging at her, Lightning grabbed at nothing but air as he landed close to where the girl had been standing.

"_Bruja Cuervo_!" He screamed. "Show yourself!"

"But I am showing myself." A ghostly voice came from his right. Both he and Flame stared stupidly at the corner. Suddenly Flame went down, the dagger jutting out of the side of his neck.

Raven walked toward the man on the floor. Lightning scurried back, fear evident in his eyes as he watched her advance slowly toward him. "My compliments…" She murmured, kneeling down to his level. "You put up a really good fight."

"Bravo… bravo." A deep voice came from the other end of the room. Raven turned, looking toward where the voice had come from. A man stood there, one she had not seen before, with Lola at his side. "Well done, Crow girl." He said, clapping his hands. He grinned evilly and Raven's breath caught in her throat. "Well, what are you waiting for, Crow girl? Kill him!" Luc Crash smirked, watching the girl hesitate. "Oh, I'm sorry… did I ruin your party?" He flicked his wrist and Raven gasped as she found herself flying through the air and against the wall. Her vision flickered and she tried to focus on the strange man who had not even touched her.

Lightning scrambled up, equally as scared of the newcomer as Raven was. Stumbling over one of the many bodies that littered the floor, he ran out the door. Luc casually flicked his hand again and the sickening crack and resounding crash heard Lightning falling down the stairs, every bone in his body impossibly broken.

"It's good to be back!" Luc said, spreading his arms wide. "Hey baby…" He said wit ha grin, one arm around Lola's waist as he brought her to him to kiss. "I've missed you…"

"I've missed you, baby…" Lola smiled. Luc looked at her eyes.

"Ooohh, new eyes, Lola?" He asked with a devilish smirk.

"Oh, do you like them? They once belonged to the filthy spawn of a seer and an Injun lover." Lola smirked back.

"Really?" Luc laughed. "Well, they suit you. Now… lead me to my throne, Lola Byrne… my Queen of Darkness."

"With pleasure." Lola laughed, leading her lover to a door behind the tapestry that hung on the wall behind the altar. "Welcome back, Luc…" She murmured in his ear as they disappeared. Raven felt consciousness slipping from her and blackness overcame her senses.


	13. Chapter 13

As my vision slowly swam back into view, I felt a jolt as the events of the night rushed back into my head. I raised my head off my chest and looked about me. The room was empty, save for the dead bodies of the thugs that had been done away with and the Petrine Cross that was still hung beside the altar. Rising slowly to my feet, I made my way over to the cross only to see Detective Ramírez still bound and gagged to it. I quickly felt his pulse and went to find the crank on which the chain holding the cross up was locked to.

Lowering the cross as quickly as I could, I wrenched the nails from the detective's feet and hands, ripping some material from the cloth that covered the altar to bandage his wounds. Untying the rope that also held him to the cross; I dragged him onto the floor that he could regain consciousness in a comfortable position. Pulling the waded up material from his mouth, I lay a hand on his cheek.

"Thank you for caring, Detective Ramírez." I whispered, pressing my lips to his forehead. "You're a kind soul in this world."

I got up, making my way to the tapestry behind the altar. Pulling the heavy material aside, I kicked open the door with my boot.

"Ah… here she is…" The demon in front of me smiled. "We were wondering when you were going to grace us with your presence." I scowled at him, silently surveying the scene. Three people knelt in front of Lola Byrne and Luc. A woman and two men. They surveyed me silently, obviously waiting for the command to attack me. I held my hands in a peaceable gesture, my face not giving away any emotion. "Well?" Luc asked. "Do you have anything to say?"

"What am I supposed to say to the man who is supposed to be the Antichrist?" I asked in a soft voice. "'Hi, how are you'?"

"Couldn't hurt." Luc smirked. "I'm doing great, by the way… now that the only thing standing between me and Hell on earth is right in front of me."

I glared at him, hatred for this man and his kind bubbling through my veins. This man's followers were the ones that had murdered me and my cat. I lowered my gaze, knowing that all five people were watching me closely. As quick as I could, I moved my hand to my belt, raising the crossbow to point at Luc. At the same time, the three people on the floor raised semi-automatic weapons to aim at me. Luc threw his head back and laughed.

"The girl has guts." He mused, putting his arm around Lola's shoulders. "I like that in a girl." He didn't seem to notice as Lola glared at him. Stepping forward, he motioned for the three people in front of him to lower their weapons. "Let's see what she's really made of." He said, a grin on his face that could only be described as pure evil. "Take your shot, Raven. I dare you."

I frowned, not sure where this was leading. I lowered the crossbow and looked at him. He cocked his head to one side and shrugged.

"Scared?" He asked, that damned smirk still on his face. "That's okay… I was just hoping you'd want to take a free shot."

His tone made me want to grab his neck and squeeze the last remaining life out of him with my bare hands. I hated him. I really, truly hated him. I had never purely hated anyone before… strongly disliked maybe, but this guy was certainly worthy of hate – he thought he was the Antichrist after all! I raised the crossbow and took careful aim. He smiled at me as I squeezed the trigger and the bolt flew at the speed of light towards his black heart.

Luc spread his arms wide and I watched in fear as the bolt slowed to a stop in midair, not an inch away from his chest. He looked at the weapon, feeling its tip with his finger. He grinned. "That could have been really painful." He mused, before flicking his wrist and sending the bolt shooting straight back at me. I ducked out of the way, feeling the bolt whistle past my right ear. Looking up, I squared my shoulders and surveyed the man in front of me.

"Impressive." I murmured. "You must be a real treat at birthday parties."

Luc threw his head back and laughed loudly again. "She's a treat, this one." He said to Lola. Turning back to me, he smirked again. "She's just like her old man."

I was taken aback. _I was like my father? This guy had known __**my father**__?_ I narrowed my gaze.

"Do not insult my father in front of me, you piece of horse shit." I said in a dangerously low voice.

"I can insult whoever I like." Luc sneered. "It was his heart that made the way I am now."

My mouth went dry. I remembered my grandfather telling me that my mother and father had been killed by my father's best friend. Surely… it couldn't be _this_ guy?!

"That's right, sweetie-pie." Luc smirked. "By the way… how is your old grandpa? Oh, wait… that's right. He's _dead_."

Clenching my jaw, I took a step closer to Luc and felt my body tremble with rage. Luc grinned evilly.

"Kill the bird." He said.

I looked at the woman kneeling on the floor. She stood up, throwing a sack in the air. The sack squawked and cawed and I knew then where the crow had disappeared to. Quick as a flash, the woman had pulled a rapier-like sword from her belt and brought it slicing through the air and the sack.

With a cry of pain, I fell to my knees, sobbing as pain seeped to the deepest recesses of my mind. The crow… my one and only friend in this entire nightmare was gone. I knew it to be true. I felt myself falling forward as my brain overloaded from the pain. I couldn't move. Aware of my surroundings as the pain slowly… so slowly, began to recede, I heard Luc laughing at my demise.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you not to mess with things you didn't know, Raven?" He asked. "Oh, that's _right_… you don't _have_ any parents." I gasped as pain exploded through my central nervous system. Luc's boot connected with my sternum, sending me flying through the air like a limp rag doll. I grunted as I slammed into the wall opposite and rolled onto my front, coughing as I tried to regain my breath once more.

Looking up, I saw the three subordinates looking down at me, their guns each cocked and pointed at my head. I closed my eyes, silently apologising to the Crow that was no a casualty of war. I also silently apologised for not being able to complete my task. I readied myself for what was to come.

"Shoot her." I heard Luc say. There was the sound of three shots being fired… and then nothing.

~::-|-::~

_Raven… Raven… it's time to wake up, my darling… Time to wake up…_

I opened my eyes. Where was I? Was I dead? I didn't feel dead… but then I wouldn't know what dead felt like. To me it felt very much like being alive. I looked around through the swirling mist.

_Raven… you must go back… go back and finish what you started…_

"How can I?" I asked the voice. "They killed the crow; my connection to the earth is gone!" I looked around to see a woman walking through the mist towards me. The mist began to life and I saw that we were under a large tree. A child's swing was tied to a thick branch. The woman smiled at me, reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

_My sweet little girl… it was the crow that held your physical being to the Land of the Living. Return now and finish what you began, so that it may never happen again._

"Mom?" I breathed, smelling the sweet scent of lilies. The woman merely smiled and I knew that it was her. "Mom!" I threw my arms around her and buried my face into her shoulder. She returned the embrace with a smile. Pulling back, I looked at her beautiful blue eyes. Then, feeling a hand on my shoulder, I turned to face a man with deep brown eyes and tussled brown hair. He smiled at me and I felt tears run down my cheeks. "Dad?" Again, I through my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder, relishing the feel of his strong arms holding me and taking away all my pain.

Letting go, I looked at them both, sniffling as I wiped my nose on my sleeve. "I have to go back, don't I?" I asked quietly. They both nodded, sad smiles on their faces.

_We will meet again, my sweet darling._ My mother's voice echoed through my head and I closed my eyes as she touched her lips to my forehead.

As I opened my eyes again, I looked up at the figured with their backs to me and began to rise to my feet.


	14. Chapter 14

"Tonight will be the night that we bring hell on earth to all." Luc said with a dark laugh. He was happy. The crow girl was dead which left the world as his playground to do with what he wanted. He leaned toward Lola and kissed her, which she readily returned. "This is MY night and no one is going to mess it up."

"Really?" A voice from the back of the room made them all turn. Luc's eyes went wide as he saw the girl standing there, apparently uninjured. "If it's your night, Luc… why am I still here? Shouldn't I be dead by now?" She smirked.

"What the _fuck_?!" Luc almost screamed in agitation. "_I told you to kill her_!"

The woman who had killed the crow had her eyes widened in amazement. "But we shot her in the head. No one could survive three bullets in the brain!"

"Well, I obviously did, _chica_." The girl said, absently inspecting her fingernails. "Guess you didn't aim as well as you thought."

"Taurus! Scorpio! Get her!" Screamed Lola in frustration. The two men leapt to attention and bulldozed toward the girl who leapt nimbly out of the way, landing on Taurus' shoulders before somersaulting through the air and up into the rafters.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, boys." The girl called down, her voice full of mirth. Luc growled in frustration, using his otherworldly power to bring her crashing through the rafters and back to their level. "Ow!" She said; her grimace turning into a grin on her face the size of the Grand Canyon. "Didn't Mommy ever tell not to play so rough with girls?" She asked simply. She leapt out of the way again as Scorpio barrelled toward her. Lola and Luc leapt out of the way just in time.

"Stay still little fly!" Scorpio yelled at the girl who skipped out of his way again when he'd changed direction to go after her a third time.

"I'm not a fly, Scorpio." She chided. "I'm a Raven… big difference in size." She smirked, dancing passed Taurus as she pulled his gun from the shoulder holster that he wore. She looked at it, impressed. "SIG Pro… nice choice for a big man like you." She said with a grin, flicking the safety off and pointing the gun at his head. "Now… I don't know much about guns, no matter how much I've used them in the last few days… but I'm guess that from this range, your head will probably explode like a grenade." She mused. "And as interesting as it would be to watch, it'd be kind of messy and probably scar your buddies for life."

"I'm not afraid of dying, _bruja_." The big man sneered. "Why should I be afraid of dying when I am a faithful follower of the Antichrist?"

"Probably because he isn't the Antichrist yet." Raven said with a smile. "He still has to complete the ritual that he never completed the last time he tried this." She sniggered. Luc looked at her angrily.

"How would you know, you pathetic little half breed?" He snapped. "Your mother was a whore and your father was a convict. You deserve to die like them… hated and alone."

"Oh, but they didn't die alone, Luc." Raven said sweetly. "They had each other. Unlike you. You died the first time because you couldn't complete the ritual because your little lady friend there got scared of you. If she really loved you, wouldn't she have died along with you?"

"You little _bitch_!" Lola screamed, grabbing Gemini's rapier and running at the girl who had caused her so much grief. Raven didn't move as the sword drove straight through her chest. Looking up at Lola's crazed expression, she sighed, pulling the sword from her body.

"So… what was all that about?" She asked simply. Lola's crazed expression gave way to fear as she stumbled back from the girl.

"You have no crow… how the fuck can you still be here?!" She whispered fearfully.

"Who knows?" Raven shrugged, aiming the SIG Pro handgun at her. After a minute, she dropped her arm.

"She can't do it!" Luc began to laugh. "She can't shoot the woman who ordered her death!"

Raven turned to face him. "No, I can't." She said. "Not yet, anyway." Drawing her arm back, she threw the rapier in the air, catching the hilt again and throwing the sword like a spear. Luc raised his hands to stop the forthcoming attack.

It never came. Lowering his hands, he looked to his left to see Gemini nailed to the wall by the rapier that was stabbed through her neck. He looked back at the girl with a narrowed gaze. "Good shot, half-breed, but you still missed."

"Actually, I hit my target spot on." Raven said with a shrug. "Who's next?"

Neither of the remaining men advanced on her and she sighed with annoyance. "Really Luc, did you have to have such wimpy followers? They don't even want to take on a girl half their size?"

"Taurus! Attack!" Luc yelled in agitation. Taurus tore his gaze from Gemini and looked toward his boss with fear in his eyes. "Don't look at me like that, you bastard! Get her!" Luc screamed at him.

Seeing no choice but to obey, Taurus turned to face Raven and scowled. Raven smiled at him.

"C'mon, big guy!" She taunted. "Can you take me on or are you not man enough?"

With an angry roar, Taurus charged at her, unable to grab his gun, since the girl held it in her hands. Raven leapt into the rafter again with a girlish giggle.

"Is that the best you can do?" She asked, her grinning face just visible in the shadows. "I thought Taurus was a fierce bull." She giggled again.

"Scorpio! Grab her!" Luc screamed in frustration. The other man ran to help Taurus, aiming his own SIG Suer into the rafters, letting off a couple of rounds.

"Really, I thought Scorpio's element was water… shouldn't you be shooting at me with a water pistol, Scorpio?" The bodiless voice asked. Taurus growled in frustration, before tapping Scorpio on the shoulder. Cupping his hands to form a boost, he hoisted Scorpio into the rafters, where the other man clung to the thick wooden beams, peering into the shadows to find the Crow girl. "Awwh… that's it! Now you're working together!" Raven giggled. A loud crack pierced the air and Scorpio fell to the ground, his eyes rolled back in his head, a gaping hole in his chest where his heart once was. "Whoops…" Raven said dropping the pulsating organ onto the floor. "I guess my aim was a little off."

Taurus eyes the heart in horror, his face turning a sickly green colour.

"It's just a heart, Taurus… it isn't going to hurt you." Raven laughed gaily. The big man fell to his knees, expelling all that was in his stomach. Raven wrinkled her nose. "Ew…" She said. "Nasty."

Jumping down from the rafters, she cocked her head to one side as she surveyed Taurus being sick. "I guess it's not everybody's cup of tea." She murmured, holding the SIG Sauer to his head and pulling the trigger. Taurus slumped into the puddle of his own vomit, with no face to speak of. "Guess I was right…" Murmured Raven with a sigh. "Sometimes I hate being right." She turned to face Luc and Lola who were surveying the scene with revulsion. One would even say there was fear in Luc's eyes. As Raven advanced towards them, they began to back up, realising that this time there was no sending her to Hell. Bypassing them completely, she pulled the rapier out of the wall and Gemini's neck and wiped the blood of the former Zodiac's clothes. Holding it up, she advanced back towards Luc.

He swallowed, raising his hand to use his power to knock her back, away from him, but before he could summon the power to him, she knocked his wrist with the edge of the blade. With a scream, he held his injured wrist, calling upon his power to heal himself. As he did so, Raven walked up to the table in the room and looked down at the book.

"Is this yours, Luc?" She wondered allowed.

"NO!" Lola screamed as Raven brought the blade down on the book.


	15. Chapter 15

As I looked at the destruction around me, I felt as though a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The events of the past forty-eight hours had been a grim reminder that the world was a place of many things… evil was one of them.

I turned and made my way out of the room behind the tapestry. Detective Ramírez seemed to finally be coming around and I knelt beside him, looking at him as he opened his eyes. "Hello, Detective…" I said softly, wiping the sweat off his brow. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this whole mess…"

"That… man… is he?" Ramírez asked, his voice raspy. I nodded.

"He's dead. And so are all the rest."

"What am I going to say to my superiors?" He wondered allowed.

"Tell them there was a riot among the members of the Cyanide Nazi Order which brought the downfall of the worst underworld gang in Mexico." I said with a smile. "Excuse me for a minute."

Going over to the altar, I stood the cross up the right way and leaned it against the wall. Kneeling in front of it, I made a sign of the cross and bowed my head. I prayed for the forgiveness of those who had followed the order and I prayed that I would be atoned for my sins against God. I prayed that I would be worthy of walking alongside my parents in the Land of the Dead. Making the sign of the cross again, I stood and walked back over to Ramírez. Helping him up, I steadied him before letting him walk on his own.

"I hope you never have to experience anything like that again, Detective Ramírez." I said. "And I apologise for getting you involved in the first place."

"S'all right." Ramírez said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Shit happens, after all."

I laughed lightly and nodded. "It does." I agreed. "Are you alright to find your way home, or would you like me to accompany you?"

"Depends. Where're you going after this?"

I smiled as I helped him down the stairs and out into the street. I looked up at the sky which was now alive with a billion twinkling stars. "Hopefully somewhere safe." I murmured.

"I could use the company…" Ramírez said after a moment or two. "Don't want anyone asking stupid questions about where I got these." He indicated to his wrists and feet. I nodded silently and began to accompany him back to his apartment.

~::-|-::~

As I walked slowly toward the gates of the cemetery, I looked up at the sky again. The stars twinkled down like millions of diamonds stuck in the sky. I smiled. Perhaps now the world would be a safer place from dark shadows like Lola Byrne and Luc Crash. I sighed, entering the gates and making my way back to my grave. It was hard to believe that I had risen only two days previous. It felt like decades since I had woken up in the dark. I smiled. My grave had been undisturbed. It was in a section of graves that were rarely visited if at all. Climbing down into the hole, I lay back on the cotton lining of my casket and stared up at the sky one last time.

~::-|-::~

There's a place I go inside myself. It's warm and full of light. There are clouds floating by, lazily on a non-existent breeze, and sometimes, the light grows dim enough to see millions upon millions of stars all around me. This is where I will live for eternity now with my mother and father by my side and Mosi, my cat at my feet.

My name is Raven Ignites The Dawn Cuervo. I am eighteen years old. And I am finally at peace.

**The End**


End file.
